Florida Could Give Each Candidate Fits

HuffPost's Sam Stein reports:

Florida is a complicated state for any one candidate to traverse. And in the wake of Saturday night's results, it appeared each was going to try his hand.

There is the traditionally southern political culture up north and the more northern-like political culture down south. There are cities and suburbs, the business communities, the computer technology community, and the space industry communities. There are numerous media markets and the influential I-4 corridor. And while it will be a closed primary, meaning only registered Republicans can vote in it, there is a wide swath of minorities who will be involved.

Whereas in South Carolina, the Jewish vote accounted for zero percent of Republican primary voters, according to exit poll data, that number will be considerably higher in Florida. And while the issue of immigration was cited by just three percent of South Carolinians as the one they viewed as most important, Floridians will view the matter differently. The Florida primary will be the first to take place in a state with a significant percentage of Hispanic voters.

The vote will occur a week from Tuesday, but the fireworks should start immediately. On Monday night all four candidates are confirmed to appear at a debate sponsored by NBC,National Journal and the Tampa Bay Times.

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