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Race For The Presidency
Winning the 2008 Nomination
By Rhodes Cook |
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By defying both parties with its choice of a Jan. 29 primary date, Florida is
aiming to wield as much influence in the presidential nominating process as it
presently does in the fall election, as one of the nation's premier battleground
states. It is an open question, however, just how many delegates Florida will
end up with in 2008. The Democratic National Committee stripped the state of all
of its delegates as punishment for sticking to its primary date.
Participation in Florida's primaries is limited to registered voters in each party. As of October 2006, there were 10,433,849 registered voters in Florida—4,219,531 Democrats, 3,935,675 Republicans, and 2,278,643 independents and third-party voters.
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DEMOCRATS |
REPUBLICANS |
| THE CALENDAR |
Primary Date
(polling hours) |
Jan. 29
(7 a.m.-7 p.m.) |
Jan. 29
(7 a.m.-7 p.m.) |
| Ballot Access |
The two parties draw up lists of candidates to submit to the Florida secretary of state by Oct. 31, 2007. Then, a committee made up of the secretary of state, state legislative leaders, and the state party chairs meets Nov. 6, 2007, to decide which names to put on the ballot. There is no alternative petition route to the ballot. |
| THE DELEGATES |
| Number (% of national total) |
0 (0.0%) |
57 (2.4%) |
| Distribution: |
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By district |
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75 (3 per district) |
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At-Large |
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36 |
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Pledged PEOs |
— |
— |
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RNC members |
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3 |
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Superdelegates |
— |
— |
| Method of Allocation |
Proportional—15% of vote needed to win a share of statewide or district delegates. |
Winner-take-all—statewide winner takes all the at-large delegates; winner in a district takes all of that district's delegates. |
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