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Amid Re-Vote Stir, Dr. Dean Goes to Florida
Posted by Josh Gerstein
Wed, 12 Mar 2008 at 5:50 PM
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With high-stakes discussions ongoing about a possible make-up Democratic primary in Florida, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, is on the ground in the Sunshine State.
Dr. Dean arrived in Fort Lauderdale this afternoon, coming from Alabama, according to a well-placed source.
A spokeswoman for the DNC, Stacie Paxton, confirmed the trip and said it was to attend a scheduled fund-raiser. However, Dr. Dean has been talking by phone to members of Florida's congressional delegation today about the standoff over the primary, the spokeswoman said.
Senator Nelson of Florida has proposed a mail-in primary, but Democratic House members from the state rejected that option yesterday. Senator Obama's campaign also expressed concerns about a mail-in re-vote.
Until yesterday, Senator Clinton's campaign had insisted that the party recognize the results of the January 29 vote, which Mrs. Clinton won handily albeit with no campaigning in the state. Today, the former first lady and her aides indicated they would also accept a re-vote. The easing of Mrs. Clinton's position came after a prominent surrogate for the New York senator, Paul Begala, said on CNN last night that recognizing the Florida and Michigan votes as is was "untenable."
Under national Democratic party rules, Michigan, which voted January 15, and Florida are both slated to be stripped of their delegates because their primaries took place before the time window the national party had approved.
With debate over possible re-votes at a fever pitch, Dr. Dean is sure to get an earful from Floridians about finding a way to get them back into the presidential primary process.
While in Montgomery, Ala. Yesterday, Dr. Dean said delegates selected by any re-vote would not be seated at the Denver convention in August without the consent of both Democratic candidates, according to WSFA-TV.
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