Candidates to Duke It Out Over Florida

— -- Ah, Florida.

Up for grabs in the Sunshine state are 27 electoral votes -- votes that have been a source of fierce contention in the past.

Fighting for the White House, Democrats last won the state in 1996, though many folks still beg to differ after the famously disputed contest of 2000 between Bush and Gore. Republicans took Florida in 2004, 2000 and 1992.

This time around, late January primaries swept the battleground state into the 2008 election in late January. Now, Florida is seen as one of three states, along with Ohio and Pennslyvania, that is critical to the November 2008 election.

The Republican primary brought John McCain a victory, winning Florida with 36 percent of the vote to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's 31 percent.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., beat out Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in the Democratic primary, collecting 870,986 votes, or 50 percent, compared to Obama's 33 percent.

Check back to see when ABC News heads to Florida and learn if, and how, the political tide turns for either candidate.