by Mark Silva
Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democrat Hillary Clinton could face a real fight for Florida, the fourth-largest state and an electoral-vote treasure, should they become their parties’ nominees for president in 2008.
A new poll shows a narrow lead for Giuliani over Clinton in the Sunshine State – a 46-43 percentage point advantage – which really is a statistical tie. And it’s a clean reversal of the 46-43 lead that Clinton held over Giuliani in Quinnipiac University’s polling two weeks ago – also a statistical tie.
The Sunshine State hasn’t voted for many Democrats for president in the past five decades, but when it has – Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton for reelection only – it has voted for a winner.
On the theoretical Clinton-Giuliani matchup, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute’s Peter Brown: “ This has gone back and forth since the campaign began this year and reflects just how up for grabs Florida’s Electoral votes will be in November of 2008.’’
In the primary contests, Clinton, the senator from New York, also holds a strong advantage over her rivals in Florida – though candidates essentially have suspended their primary campaigns there at the insistence of the Democratic National Committee, which plans to deny Florida its delegates at the nominating convention in Denver for holding its primary on Jan. 29. The poll also finds that many independent voters, who are key in Florida’s contests, disapprove of the DNC’s punishment – with 22 percent saying they won’t vote for a Democrat because of it.
In that early Jan. 29 primary in Florida, Guiliani, the former mayor of New York, also holds a strong advantage over his rivals.
For more, see the poll.
• 
• 
• 
• 
Comments
Hillary Clinton signed a pledge stating that she would not participate in any state that held its primary before Iowa, yet her name remains on the ballot in Michigan, as well as Florida. In FLA, she sent her husband to fund-raise. I think that is participation. The DNC said their primaries would not count, because of their place in the primary calendar. The Clintons are not living up to the pledge. They are cheating. Boldly and flagrantly, my question, why is the DNC not imposing some kind of sanction? Why is the media not nailing them on this? Why don't the rules, that the Clintons agreed to live by, apply to them?
Posted by: Amy Hasslacher | October 25, 2007 10:21 AM
The media wants a New York subway series between Hillary/Bill and Don Giuliani.
Posted by: GW | October 25, 2007 12:52 PM
To Amy: The pledge had rules they must follow. Fundraising is not considered campaigning as long as no media attention is involved. This obviosuly doesn't count newspapers because I, being 1000miles from Miami and write an article about florida fundraising. The Clintons are well within their rights by following the pledge. Hillary is not campaigning there at all.
Posted by: Ryan | October 25, 2007 3:57 PM