McCain Gets Head Start In Florida

It was a fortunate coincidence for Republican presidential candidate John McCain this week that major parts of his life happened to take place in a state that's considered crucial for him to win in November.

His time learning to be a Navy pilot in Pensacola and being stationed in the Jacksonville area before and after going to Vietnam gave him a reason to spend two days here as part of a biographical tour as he lets voters get to know him, and thus giving him attention in the largest of swing states.

It will be one of many trips McCain will make here over the next few months, and for now he'll have Florida to himself while Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton continue to fight for delegates elsewhere and state and national Democrats figure out how to get Florida's delegates to the August convention.

"By the time the Democrats are done squabbling over their Florida delegates, McCain will have already made several laps across the I-4 corridor and other critical parts of the state," said Todd Harris, a Washington-based political adviser who worked for McCain during his 2000 presidential run and later for former Gov. Jeb Bush's re-election.

And it's not just the television coverage and rallies that help McCain while Sens. Obama and Clinton are competing in the Pennsylvania primary.

"More importantly he's building an organization right now and the Democrats don't have a candidate to build an organization around," said David Beattie, a Florida-based Democratic consultant.

Obama and Clinton have virtually no organized staff in Florida other than a few fundraisers. Both stopped campaigning here last fall after the Democratic National Committee stripped Florida of its delegates, punishment for holding a primary before Feb. 5 in violation of party rules. While Clinton held a rally the night of the Jan. 29 primary, both candidates have since moved on to other states while the Democratic nomination remains in limbo.

Meanwhile, McCain is raising money in Florida and planning more trips. He is also receiving help from Gov. Charlie Crist in building an organization. Crist proved to be a formidable fundraiser with a strong grass-roots network during his 2006 election. He put his team in motion when he endorsed McCain three days before the primary.

"Huge. It was huge," McCain said of Crist's help while sitting across from the governor on a campaign bus.

Still, McCain questioned any extra benefit of being able to come to Florida while Democrats still pick a nominee.

"I'd love to believe that it's a huge advantage, but most political observers would attest to the fact that people really start focusing in a relatively short period leading up to the election," McCain said, pointing to the fact that he was way behind in polls in states like New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida before eventually winning primaries.

While he appreciates the opportunity to travel here, he would have been doing so regardless of what was happening in the Democratic race, he said. He also noted that the drawn out Democratic contest means Obama and Clinton are getting a lot of attention in the news.

"So, I guess my answer is I don't know. We have not seen anything like this before," McCain said.

Beattie noted that more than 1.7 million Democrats, a record turnout, participated in the primary even though they were told their vote would be meaningless. More than 1.9 million Republicans voted in the primary, which did count toward their party's nomination.

Beattie sees the Democrats' heavy interest as an indication that they are motivated to see change in the White House after eight years under Republican President Bush.

He also observed that McCain's first major swing through Florida since the primary hit areas that are heavily Republican.

"That's not where the swing voters are," he said. "He's still consolidating his base. The more time he spends doing that, the less time he spends with persuadable voters."

Crist's approval ratings have remained strong despite Florida's bad economic times. He has traveled the country with McCain and talked about him on national news networks.

While he didn't join McCain in Pensacola, he was next to McCain at Cecil Field on Thursday and joined him for a demonstration of college courses military members can take on computers while overseas. He and McCain later went to a lunchtime fundraiser attended by many of Crist's top north Florida donors.

"I love the guy. I just think he's great," said Crist, who has known McCain for two decades. "When it came down to the endorsement decision, so much of it was admiration for his character, his strength, his honesty, his straightforwardness, but in the end I just like him. A lot. I really do."

McCain is also getting help from Sen. Mel Martinez, a Cuban-American, which may have been a factor when McCain dominated the heavily Cuban South Florida vote during the primary.

"No one is going to win Florida without significant support from Hispanic voters and Sen. Martinez is going to be a key part of building that support for Sen. McCain," said Harris, who this year worked for former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson's presidential campaign.