Florida's Primary Lineup Is Official
posted by John Kennedy on Nov 6, 2007 11:43:43 AM
In a meeting lasting less than 10 minutes, a state panel Tuesday set the field of candidates for Florida's Jan. 29 presidential primary -- officially signalling the start of a battle likely to consume much of the next 10 weeks.
The Presidential Candidate Selection Committee, chaired by Secretary of State Kurt Browning and comprised of the state's two party chairs, along with Democratic and Republican legislative leaders, agreed to a lineup of eight Democrats and nine Republicans that will go before voters.
Former Vice President Al Gore apparently told state Democratic leaders that he didn't want to be included in the Florida primary contest, said Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller, D-Cooper City. Geller also briefly floated the name of Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert as a possible contender, but dismissed the idea when he was ignored by Republican Chairman Jim Greer.
Geller also fired a shot at the leading Democratic presidential field for having signed a pledge not to campaign in Florida because the state moved its primary to Jan. 29 in violation of national party rules. Only longshot candidate Mike Gravel, a former Alaska senator, attended last month's state Democratic Party convention.
"Do we want to remove everybody but Mike Gravel?" Geller asked.
House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, also talked of a longshot -- saying he considered inserting Senate President Ken Pruitt's name on the list because, "he's the only one with presidential experience."
The Democratic field: Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson.
The Republicans: Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, and Fred Thompson.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2007/11/floridas-primar.htmlI WANT MORE INFO ON THIS!!! ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING???