Parties struggle to control primaries

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For a state that is a key player in presidential politics, the 2008 campaign so far has been strangely lopsided.

On the Republican side, there have been plenty of candidate appearances and some TV ads. Last week, this city hosted a raucous debate that featured more noisy thunderbolts than a Tampa Bay thunderstorm.

And then there's the Democratic campaign for Florida's Jan. 29 presidential primary: Sounds of silence, interrupted by the occasional ka-ching of a cash register.

Except for appearances at private fundraisers, Democratic presidential hopefuls are steering clear of Florida. No campaign commercials, no stump speeches, no chats with local media. They've taken a no-campaign pledge at the urging of party officials angry at Florida's refusal to delay its primary.

The boycott adds another dose of drama to a state famed for its hanging chads, butterfly ballots and role in the 2000 presidential election. It also highlights the inability of both national parties to avert a train wreck of a primary schedule that threatens to collapse the presidential nominating process into two frenetic months.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) can strip Florida of its 210 delegates from the party's 2008 national convention. The judge said the party has a First Amendment right to set its own rules.

Spotlight on Republicans

Sen. Bill Nelson, who brought the suit against the committee, predicted the party's eventual nominee will end up seating the Florida delegation anyway because the state will be critical in the November election.

"It's stupid of the Democratic Party to put themselves in this position," said Stephen Craig, chairman of the political science department at the University of Florida.

In a statewide Mason-Dixon poll in mid-November for Florida Today, 26% of independent voters said they'd be less likely to vote for a candidate who didn't campaign in the primary.

Florida Republicans, meanwhile, are pinching themselves over their good fortune: For the next two months, they'll have the attention of voters in one of the nation's key political battlegrounds all to themselves.

"Democrats have sent a message to Florida that they're not interested," said Jim Greer, the state GOP chairman. "That's ultimately going to benefit Republicans."

Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democrats, insisted the party's nominee will have enthusiastic support in the fall, even though some party activists "are unhappy" over candidates' failure to show for the primary. Some candidates have tried to do an end-run around the boycott by holding bargain-basement fundraisers, where tickets cost as little as $15, Thurman said.

Florida residents had donated more than $10 million to Democratic candidates as of Sept. 30, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the top fundraiser in the state in either party, got $4.7 million from Floridians.

Ignoring DNC rules

Democratic Party rules say no state except Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina may hold a presidential primary before Feb. 5.

Last summer, the DNC voted to strip Florida of its delegates, and the presidential candidates' no-campaign pledge began. The candidates got a letter asking them not to aid and abet what Democratic leaders in the four other states saw as a move that could threaten the focus on their states' contests.

As a result, Democratic candidates are not campaigning in Florida. In Michigan, which set its primary for Jan. 15, Democrats Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, John Edwards and Bill Richardson removed their names from the ballot. The DNC on Saturday voted to strip Michigan of its 156 delegates.

Republican officials did not make the same demand on their party's presidential contenders. Spokeswoman Mary Tiffany said Iowa GOP officials viewed the no-campaign pledge as "a gimmick" that didn't stop states from moving up their primary dates and may end up hurting candidates.

The Republican National Committee wanted states to wait until February to begin primaries and caucuses, and vowed to strip those that didn't of half their delegates to the 2008 presidential nominating convention. That did not, however, stop five states from scheduling January contests.

And the Democrats' rules about the four early states failed to prevent Florida and Michigan from muscling into the mix.

"It's ridiculous to have so much emphasis on states like Iowa and New Hampshire," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

Wasserman Shultz, a national co-chair of Clinton's presidential campaign, said that in the end, her state's rebellion is likely to be forgiven. "We're the biggest swing state in the nation," she said. "There's no chance the Democratic nominee is going to decide not to seat the Florida delegation at the convention."

Contributing: Fredreka Schouten; Bill Cotterell, Gannett News Service