William March and Billy House/Media General News Service
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TAMPA, Fla. -- The Florida Democratic Party announced Monday that it’s abandoning the effort to hold a mail-in presidential primary re-vote, leaving Florida’s participation in the Clinton-Obama race still stalemated and clouded with uncertainty.
The mail-in proposal was “the only existing way that we can comply with [Democratic National Committee] Rules,” said a statement from state party Chair Karen Thurman.
That appears to mean the party won’t seek another way to come up with a national convention delegation satisfactory to the DNC.
She said the party received thousands of comments on the mail-vote proposal from Democrats after seeking input.
“The consensus is clear, she said. “Florida doesn’t want to vote again. So we won’t.”
Meanwhile, the continued stalemate heightened discussion, particularly among Clinton supporters, over whether the Florida primary boycott will hurt the eventual nominee’s chances of winning the state in November.
“If they think they can not seat the Florida delegation and have any hope of carrying the state in November, they’re completely incorrect,” state Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller said Monday.
“It sounds like the DNC has no interested in winning the presidency.”
Geller, who hasn’t committed in the race, said he was “awfully close” to calling for a boycott of the national party by Florida Democratic campaign donors.
Some donors already were considering their own boycotts.
Miami businessman Paul Cejas, a major Democratic donor and Clinton backer, reportedly has demanded the return of $28,500 he gave the DNC last year.
Chris Korge, Clinton’s top Florida fundraiser, said Monday he’s considering asking the return of $140,000 he raised in a fundraiser at his home in December with DNC Chairman Howard Dean.
On Monday, Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer said if there’s no solution, “The Republicans will get an issue to use against the Democrats in the fall.”
Sen. Bill Nelson, a Clinton supporter who has been pushing the re-vote idea, said in a statement issued Monday that Democrats “appear headed for a political train wreck” including a convention floor fight over Florida's delegates.
“That runs the risk of alienating a key battleground state in the run-up to the November elections,” he said.
With the collapse of the mail-in idea, there appear to be only a few alternatives left to resolve the stalemate.
-- An appeal by veteran party activist Jon Ausman, challenging the national party’s original decision to ban the Florida delegation. Ausman contends party rules say the delegation should not have been banned entirely, only cut in half.
It’s uncertain when that appeal will be heard. It’s not on the schedule for the committee’s next meeting March 24.
-- A lawsuit by Tampa party activist Vic DiMaio and Hillsborough County Party Chairman Mike Steinberg, a lawyer. The suit was dismissed by a Tampa federal judge in October, but the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on it Wednesday.
Legal experts give the suit little chance of success, however. A similar lawsuit by Sen. Bill Nelson was dismissed last year. Nelson didn’t appeal.
-- Negotiations for a compromise under which the two campaigns would agree on how to divide up the Florida delegates among themselves – apparently the most likely path to a settlement. Neither campaign would discuss Monday whether they’re negotiating, however.
If those alternatives fail, it appears that seating Floridians will be up to the Credentials Committee of the convention, which won’t meet until late July or early August.
That committee’s composition will reflect how many delegates each candidate has won in state primaries and caucuses. That means if neither candidate is far enough ahead to clinch the nomination, a convention floor fight could result.
As a compromise, Nelson has proposed to Clinton and Obama that the Florida delegates be divided up according to the Jan. 29 primary outcome, but given only half a vote each. The effect would be cut in half the 38-delegate margin over Obama that Clinton won Jan. 29, leaving her with a net profit of 19 delegates.
But as of Monday, the Clinton campaign was sticking to its insistence that the Jan. 29 outcome should be honored in full, or that there should be another vote.
Singer, in a conference call with reporters, wouldn’t say whether the campaign is negotiating or willing to consider a compromise.
“It wouldn’t be responsible to talk about one idea on Monday and another on Tuesday,” he said. “There’s a process behind securing the remedy … We want to allow it to unfold and not engage in hypothetical questions.”
The Obama campaign did not return several telephone calls for comment.
The party had said a mail-in vote was the only way to meet the criteria it had set for a new vote, including guaranteeing the chance for all the state’s Democrats to participate.
One option suggested by the national party, a statewide system of caucuses, would be difficult and complicated to organize and run, just as critics said a mail-in vote would be, party officials say. But, they add, a caucus program the party would be able to afford and to administer would allow participation by only a small fraction of the 1.75 million people who voted in the Jan. 29 primary.
Reporter William March can be reached at wmarch@tampatrib.com or at 1 (813) 259-7761. Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 66207673.
The mail-in proposal was “the only existing way that we can comply with [Democratic National Committee] Rules,” said a statement from state party Chair Karen Thurman.
That appears to mean the party won’t seek another way to come up with a national convention delegation satisfactory to the DNC.
She said the party received thousands of comments on the mail-vote proposal from Democrats after seeking input.
“The consensus is clear, she said. “Florida doesn’t want to vote again. So we won’t.”
Meanwhile, the continued stalemate heightened discussion, particularly among Clinton supporters, over whether the Florida primary boycott will hurt the eventual nominee’s chances of winning the state in November.
“If they think they can not seat the Florida delegation and have any hope of carrying the state in November, they’re completely incorrect,” state Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller said Monday.
“It sounds like the DNC has no interested in winning the presidency.”
Geller, who hasn’t committed in the race, said he was “awfully close” to calling for a boycott of the national party by Florida Democratic campaign donors.
Some donors already were considering their own boycotts.
Miami businessman Paul Cejas, a major Democratic donor and Clinton backer, reportedly has demanded the return of $28,500 he gave the DNC last year.
Chris Korge, Clinton’s top Florida fundraiser, said Monday he’s considering asking the return of $140,000 he raised in a fundraiser at his home in December with DNC Chairman Howard Dean.
On Monday, Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer said if there’s no solution, “The Republicans will get an issue to use against the Democrats in the fall.”
Sen. Bill Nelson, a Clinton supporter who has been pushing the re-vote idea, said in a statement issued Monday that Democrats “appear headed for a political train wreck” including a convention floor fight over Florida's delegates.
“That runs the risk of alienating a key battleground state in the run-up to the November elections,” he said.
With the collapse of the mail-in idea, there appear to be only a few alternatives left to resolve the stalemate.
-- An appeal by veteran party activist Jon Ausman, challenging the national party’s original decision to ban the Florida delegation. Ausman contends party rules say the delegation should not have been banned entirely, only cut in half.
It’s uncertain when that appeal will be heard. It’s not on the schedule for the committee’s next meeting March 24.
-- A lawsuit by Tampa party activist Vic DiMaio and Hillsborough County Party Chairman Mike Steinberg, a lawyer. The suit was dismissed by a Tampa federal judge in October, but the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on it Wednesday.
Legal experts give the suit little chance of success, however. A similar lawsuit by Sen. Bill Nelson was dismissed last year. Nelson didn’t appeal.
-- Negotiations for a compromise under which the two campaigns would agree on how to divide up the Florida delegates among themselves – apparently the most likely path to a settlement. Neither campaign would discuss Monday whether they’re negotiating, however.
If those alternatives fail, it appears that seating Floridians will be up to the Credentials Committee of the convention, which won’t meet until late July or early August.
That committee’s composition will reflect how many delegates each candidate has won in state primaries and caucuses. That means if neither candidate is far enough ahead to clinch the nomination, a convention floor fight could result.
As a compromise, Nelson has proposed to Clinton and Obama that the Florida delegates be divided up according to the Jan. 29 primary outcome, but given only half a vote each. The effect would be cut in half the 38-delegate margin over Obama that Clinton won Jan. 29, leaving her with a net profit of 19 delegates.
But as of Monday, the Clinton campaign was sticking to its insistence that the Jan. 29 outcome should be honored in full, or that there should be another vote.
Singer, in a conference call with reporters, wouldn’t say whether the campaign is negotiating or willing to consider a compromise.
“It wouldn’t be responsible to talk about one idea on Monday and another on Tuesday,” he said. “There’s a process behind securing the remedy … We want to allow it to unfold and not engage in hypothetical questions.”
The Obama campaign did not return several telephone calls for comment.
The party had said a mail-in vote was the only way to meet the criteria it had set for a new vote, including guaranteeing the chance for all the state’s Democrats to participate.
One option suggested by the national party, a statewide system of caucuses, would be difficult and complicated to organize and run, just as critics said a mail-in vote would be, party officials say. But, they add, a caucus program the party would be able to afford and to administer would allow participation by only a small fraction of the 1.75 million people who voted in the Jan. 29 primary.
Reporter William March can be reached at wmarch@tampatrib.com or at 1 (813) 259-7761. Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 66207673.