Clinton Returns to Florida, Months After Claiming Victory There
From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:
WASHINGTON -- Almost four months after claiming victory in the Florida primary – despite Democratic National Committee rules that prohibited Florida and Michigan votes from counting towards picking the nominee – Clinton returns to the state with plans of furthering her cause to seat the delegates there.
Clinton "won" the Florida primary back on January 29 by double digits, but a pledge signed by all Democratic presidential candidates late last year indicated that the state would be penalized if Democratic Party did not abide by the primary date set by the DNC. Despite signing the pledge, Clinton claims millions of voters turned out and voted in the primary, and therefore should have their votes counted and delegates seated.
The problem Clinton faces is the fact that even if the DNC decides to seat the delegates, and the Rules and Bylaws Committee sides with Clinton to have those delegates seated, she still doesn't have the necessary number of delegates to capture the nomination, making her bid for the White House seem nothing short of a mathematical impossibility.
On a flight last night following her Kentucky win, the Clinton's campaign national chairman Terry McAuliffe told reporters that regardless of the daunting figures needed for Clinton to clinch the nomination, she will be the party's nominee this fall. When pressed on how he could make such a claim facing a practical impossibility in the math, McAuliffe said he believes that after the last state votes on June 3rd, the remaining uncommitted super delegates would side with Clinton, helping her reach the magic number. It seemed as though McAuliffe wasn't even buying his own spin at that point.
The Rules and Bylaws Committee of DNC is scheduled to meet at the end of this month and is expected to have a ruling over the disputed votes and delegates of Florida and Michigan. McAuliffe stopped short of saying if the campaign would abide but whatever ruling the Rules and Bylaws Committee comes to, leaving open the possibility that Clinton could challenge the ruling at the national convention, a move that is permitted under DNC rules.
Clinton will campaign in three parts of the Sunshine State today, making stops in Boca Raton, Sunrise and Coral Gables, as well as squeezing in a fundraiser during her visit.