Florida Dems say loss of delegates hurts 2008 chances

Some Florida Democrats descending on their convention in Orlando this weekend are attacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for its decision to strip them of their delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

{mosads}The Democrats, led by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who has filed suit against the DNC to reinstate the delegates, say the decision hurts their chances of carrying the state in the 2008 presidential general election and that polling backs up their argument.

The DNC has found Florida in violation of its rules because it moved its primary to Jan. 29. Only certain states are allowed to go before Feb. 5.

In a speech Saturday, Nelson cited a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday that shows 22 percent of independent voters say they are less likely to vote for the Democratic candidate because of the loss of delegates, according to The Tampa Tribune.

Florida is one of the most valuable swing states in the nation, with the winner there garnering its 27 electoral votes, or about 5 percent of the 538 total votes.

The major Democratic candidates have agreed not to campaign in the state and are therefore not attending the convention, as they have in the past.

“If not on the merits of the case, this is why [DNC] Chairman [Howard] Dean should lift the ban,” Nelson said in the speech, as reported by the Tribune.

The poll showed the leading GOP candidate, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, taking a 46-43 lead over Democratic frontrunner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.).

“Florida has swung back to give Mayor Giuliani a slight edge over Sen. Clinton,” said Quinnipiac’s polling institute assistant director, 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.”

Newspapers in the state have been reporting on the generally pessimistic tone of some attendees and officials at the convention, while others have insisted that they remain optimistic.

Those projecting optimism insist the issues in the race will be so big and the delegate situation so far in the past that it will be rendered meaningless.

The DNC declined to comment.