Focus in Democratic race turns to Florida

With two more Democratic nominating contests settled Tuesday night, the battle between Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) moved to Florida as the Sunshine State’s election results remain both in limbo and capable of changing the shape of the race.

Clinton, fresh off a big win in Kentucky, and Obama, having secured a late-night win in Oregon, were both set to campaign in Florida Wednesday.

{mosads}After the Democratic National Committee (DNC) stripped Florida and Michigan of their delegates for breaking party rules and skipping ahead in the line of nominating contests, both candidates had pledged not to campaign there until the primaries were held.

Now, more than 50 contests, tens of millions of dollars and almost five months later, Florida is back in the spotlight as the Clinton camp, aware of how critical the state is to its chances, continues to push for the results of the state’s January primary to count.

Clinton, a big winner in both Michigan and Florida, has centered much of her argument that she is the more electable candidate on her wins in the two “rogue” states. As Obama expanded on his delegate lead with a string of wins in late February, the importance of Florida and Michigan to Clinton’s viability became more evident.

After Tuesday night’s results, Obama was able to safely say that he had secured the majority of pledged delegates available on his way to the magic number of 2,026 that are needed to win the nomination.

Clinton, however, is using the results of Florida and Michigan, where Obama did not appear on the ballot, to bolster her argument that she has moved ahead of the Illinois senator in the popular-vote count.

Obama supporters are vigorously disputing the math and the rationale behind that claim.

Clinton was planning to return to Florida Wednesday — her first campaign stop in the state since her election-night victory there — to expound on what she sees as the need to count the original results.

Obama is also set to hold a big rally in Florida, and while he has said he is committed to seating both states’ delegates, his campaign has made it clear that they would not accept the original tallies.

The impasse between the two candidates could very well move to what some Democratic leaders fear most — a perceived smoke-filled-room deal that alters what many view as the will of the voters.

While it is unlikely to be smoke-filled, there will be a room, and it will be full of Democratic insiders who will decide what to do about Florida and Michigan.

The DNC’s rules and bylaws committee — the same body that imposed the harshest penalties available on Michigan and Florida — is scheduled to take up two appeals on the matter on May 31.

Warring loyalties on the committee have made it nearly impossible to guess which way it might rule. However, many Democratic leaders have shown increasing anxiety about the potential for a divided party as a result of disaffected supporters of either candidate that might pave the way to the White House for presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

Since securing the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination in early May, McCain has only had to endure concentrated criticism from the DNC and outside Democratic groups while Obama and Clinton have had to divide their attention between one another and their would-be Republican rival.

A growing chorus of Democrats, still haunted by dramatic losses in 2000 and 2004, have amplified their call for the party to be unified sooner than later.

With the focus moving back to Florida and Michigan — not to mention the three nominating contests still on the calendar — worried Democrats will likely have to wait longer to start rallying their party around a nominee.