Elections officials are reporting “medium” voter turnout throughout the state with no back-up at lunchtime and isolated lines before work hours this morning.
“It seems like an average of medium,” Department of State spokeswoman Jennifer Davis said late this afternoon.
Light turnout could bode well for GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott, whose campaign blocked nearly all of the 589 rooms at the waterfront Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina hotel for his election party.
Republicans have outpaced Democrats in early and absentee voting for the first time.
Historically, midterms have far lower voter turnout than presidential elections, particularly among blacks and
young voters who were so crucial to President Obama’s success two years ago.
“I don’t know if it was a matter of too little resources or they were too late, but I know they are getting a lot of criticism and a lot of local Democratic candidates are very upset about it,” said University of South Florida political science professor Susan MacManus.
The biggest voter turnout for a governor’s race was in 1994, when Jeb Bush lost to the late Gov. Lawton Chiles by 1.6 percent.
That was also Florida’s closest governor’s election, a benchmark that may be outstripped by today’s election that’s a dead heat going into Election Day.
Photo courtesy Shealah Craighead/Rick Scott campaign
Rick Scott and his wife Ann voted at a church near their Naples home this morning then hopped on a private plane for some last minute campaigning in Jacksonville and Tampa.
Under cloudy skies as a light drizzle fell, Scott said he was confident of a victory over Democrat Alex Sink despite polls showing the race is a dead heat.
“We’re going to win,” Scott told reporters standing outside St. Ann Catholic church as a light drizzle fell. “This race is about jobs. We need jobs. I’m going to do everything I can to get this state back to work.”
Scott’s mother Esther, elevated to celebrity status after starring in several of her son’s television campaign ads, sat in an SUV as the Scotts cast their ballots.
Esther Scott can’t vote for her because she lives in Kansas City, Mo.
Former Pres. Bill Clinton, right, shakes hands with Democratic candidate for Florida governor Alex Sink, as Rep. Alan Grayson D-Fla., right, watches at the end of a Florida Democratic Party rally in Orlando, Fla., Monday, Nov. 1, 2010.(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
ORLANDO — Speaking to several hundred voters Monday night, former President Bill Clinton stumped for Alex Sink and Kendrick Meek and chided Republicans for the big deficits that came before and after his two terms.
In a nod to the tea party’s influence in an election that’s expected to go badly for Democrats, Clinton pointed to his years in the White House as rare examples of balanced budgets and robust job growth.
“Where is the love?” Clinton asked. “I oughta be the tea party’s poster child.”
Speaking from an outdoor stage near Lake Eola, Clinton also bashed Republicans for cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans.
“I don’t know why I’m not over there at one of their rallies,” he said. “They’re just throwing money at me.”
TAMPA — Alex Sink spoke to about 250 enthusiastic supporters tonight at a club in Ybor City. A live funk band fired up the crowd with a version of “Sweet Caroline” that sounded like the words had been changed to “Sweet Adelaide,” Sink’s given first name.
Sink didn’t stray from the stump speech she has been delivering for the past week. She scoffed at Rick Scott’s big spending and repeated her support for public schools.
“The future of Florida is at stake,” Sink said.
She was surrounded by prominent Democrats, including former Gov. Bob Graham and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.
State Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, worked the crowd with zingers about the rightward tilt of the state legislature. If Scott wins, Aronberg said, Florida will have to change its name to “Florissippi.”
Now Sink is headed to a 10 p.m. rally in Orlando with former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek.
In the Senate race, PPP says Republican Marco Rubio is headed for “an easy victory” with 47 percent to 30 percent for independent Charlie Crist and 21 percent for Democrat Kendrick Meek.
Quinnipiac University’s final pre-election poll, which wrapped up Sunday night, shows Republican Marco Rubio with a 45-to-31 percent lead over indie Charlie Crist in the U.S. Senate race, with Democrat Kendrick Meek at 18 percent.
The governor’s race is too close to call, with Democrat Alex Sink up 44-to-43 percent over Republican Rick Scott in an Oct. 25-31 poll of 925 likely voters that has a 3.5 percent margin of error.
Quinnipiac’s final pre-primary poll in August showed Meek with a 10-point lead over Democratic Senate primary rival Jeff Greene (Meek won by 26.5 points) and Bill McCollum topping Scott by 4 points in the GOP governor’s primary (Scott won by 2.8 percent).
U.S. Sen. George LeMieux will join Rick Scott and running-mate Jennifer Carroll in West Palm Beach for some (more) barbecue at the Park Avenue BBQ and Grille around noon tomorrow.
The GOP gubernatorial candidates will also visit their campaign headquarters in Ft. Lauderdale and a school in Davie before a homecoming party in Naples Monday evening capping Scott’s weeklong tour of the state leading up to Election Day.
Scott’s campaign rented the Cambier Park Bandshell and will have a live band to greet Scott, who moved to Naples seven years ago. Scott and his wife Ann’s pals Wayne and Susan Mullican, who joined the Scott family on the bus tour Sunday, took out a full page ad in the Naples Daily News to advertise the event.
Democratic gubernatorial contender Alex Sink will be onstage with the most sought-after Democrats nationwide tomorrow evening: Former president Bill Clinton, who’ll be in the Sunshine State stumping for pal Kendrick Meek. Clinton’s visit – his twelfth for Meek’s U.S. Senate bid – comes after a shakeup over reports that Clinton tried to persuade Meek to drop out of the U.S. Senate race.
Bob Graham and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson will also campaign for Sink in Ft. Myers on Monday, but not only AFTER Scott has already left town.
The top of Florida’s GOP ticket – Rick Scott and Marco Rubio – were finally on stage together for the first time since the August primary at a rally attended by about 1,000 party faithful in Sarasota Sunday.
“Are you ready to turn the state around?” an enthusiastic Scott crowed, standing side-by-side with Tea Party favorite Rubio in an airplane hangar before launching into his campaign routine bashing President Obama, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “Are you ready to tell Tallahassee this is our state, not Obama’s state?
Scott started the day by attending church in Largo then strolled along Beach Drive in St. Petersburg shaking hands and posing for pictures along the waterfront.
Scott cooled down with some homemade passion fruit and chocolate ice cream along the way, but received a chillier reception in St. Pete with the general public than at the myriad orchestrated events throughout his sweep of the state that included rallies with Jeb Bush, Haley Barbour and Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio.
One woman refused to shake Scott’s hand because of the negative campaign ads from both Scott and Democratic opponent Alex Sink that has dominated the race that is too close to call just two days before Tuesday’s election.
Later, under sunny skies, Scott handed out candy to trick-or-treaters at a family Halloween festival in Ft. Myers as the GOP gubernatorial candidate wound down a week-long bus tour leading up to Tuesday’s election.
Alex Sink, who has courted moderate Republicans, says she has another Republican on her side. This time it’s Modesto Maidique, former president of Florida International University.
Sink describes Maidique as a long-time Republican who served as an education adviser to both Presidents Bush.
“At a time when scandals in business and politics are tearing apart the fiber of our nation, Alex stands as a strong and transparent breath of fresh air,” Maidique wrote in an endorsement of Sink.
Other Republicans to support Sink include former Miami Mayor Joe Carollo and former Public Service Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano, along with several Republican sheriffs and state attorneys.
Rick Scott bookended two GOP rock stars between a Tea Party rally and a private screening of the education documentary “Waiting for Superman” on Day 5 of his statewide bus tour as the clock ticks down until Election Day.
Rick Scott and RGA head Gov. Haley Barbourdd
Former Gov. Jeb Bush kicked off the day with a rally for the GOP Cabinet slate and gubernatorial candidate Scott at an airport hangar in Orlando.
“There’s a cloud on our state. I think there’s a lot of pessimism in our state right now. I think we need a can-do leader that lifts the cloud,” Bush said. “I think he’s the right guy for the right time.”
Scott capped off the day-long flyaround on a chartered plane with a rally near Tampa starring Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, the head of the National Governor’s Association. (more…)
Former President Bill Clinton, whose last visit to Florida included talks with Kendrick Meek about dropping out of the Senate race, will return Monday night for an election-eve rally in Orlando with Meek and Democratic governor candidate Alex Sink, Meek’s campaign just announced.
The Clinton visit saves face for Meek and probably helps Sink with black voter turnout she’ll need in her tight governor’s race with Republican Rick Scott.
The big loser: independent Charlie Crist, who hoped a Meek dropout would allow him to scoop up Democratic votes and defeat Republican Marco Rubio in the Senate race. Even if Meek didn’t quit, Crist stood to benefit from dispirited Democratic voters who might see the Clinton-Meek talks as a signal it was OK to vote for Crist.
Now Clinton, who denied he had urged Meek to drop out, is explicitly backing the Democrat.
Our Jane Musgrave asked Crist in Jacksonville today if he cared about Clinton’s visit:
MAXVILLE – Rick Scott urged Tea Partiers at a “Taxed Enough Already Meeting” to vote for him to send a message to Washington Democrats on a sunny afternoon in a field outside Jacksonville.
“It’s over,” the GOP gubernatorial candidate said to a crowd of at least 500.
Standing on a replica of the U.S.S. Dartmouth beside a stack of crates labeled “TEA,” Scott lumped his Democratic opponent Alex Sink in with the Washington officials.
Rick Scott and his mother Esther at a Tea Party rally near Jacksonville
“Who wants to tell Barack Obama that it’s our country, not his?” Scott shouted. “Who wants to tell Nancy Pelosi she’s fired? Who wants to tell Alex Sink to follow the rules?”
Dick Kearley, a plant nursery owner from Hawthorne, said he voted for Scott but still has doubts about the self-funded candidate who has spent at least $60 million of his own fortune funding his campaign.
“I’m trying to make the best of a bad lot,” Kearley, who said is identifies with the Tea Party and participates in some rallies but does not consider himself an official member, said. “Why would you spend so much of your own money to become governor of the state of Florida?
Kearley said he’s not alone in his lack of enthusiasm for the GOP ticket this year.
But, he added, “How bad can it be? Let’s try somebody new. It couldn’t be any worse.”
Scott’s later campaign stops include a rally in Tampa with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who supported Scott’s opponent Attorney General Bill McCollum in the primary, as did Kearley.
ORLANDO — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink said Saturday morning that rumors about former President Clinton persuading Kendrick Meek to drop out of Florida’s Senate race are only pushing more Democrats to vote for the Miami congressman.
“What I’m picking up is that people like me are even stronger supporting Kendrick and are going to make their voices heard loud and clear,” Sink told reporters after speaking at the Florida Education Association’s annual conference. “That they are voting for Kendrick on Tuesday morning, as I will be.”
Doubts over whether black voters could react angrily to the Meek-Clinton controversy has some questioning whether Sink, who is running a tight race against Rep. Rick Scott, could lose some of that minority support on Tuesday. (more…)
In the last two weeks, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rick Scott invested another $13.1 million of his fortune on his campaign.
That amount is almost $2 million more than what Democratic opponent Alex Sink has raised altogether. Sink has raised about $11.4 million since January 2009.
Scott has now spent $73.2 million on the race.
The latest spending includes $11.6 million given directly to Scott¹s campaign, reported in Friday¹s campaign finance reports, and $1.5 million to Scott¹s nonprofit campaign committee from his wife Annette¹s trust fund.
In that time, Sink raised almost $792,000 and spent nearly $1.4 million, leaving her with $842,000 in the bank.
ORLANDO — Republican Senate nominee Marco Rubio is getting rock star treatment as he barnstorms in the final days of the campaign, and it isn’t just because of his big black charter bus.
Rubio appeared with chief financial officer candidate Jeff Atwater and agriculture commissioner candidate Adam Putnam in front of enthusiastic crowds at multiple stops today. In Melbourne, where a crowd of more than 500 showed up at a rally in a park, Putnam compared introducing Rubio to “opening for Elvis.” In Daytona Beach, where it was Atwater’s turn to introduce Rubio, he compared his task to opening for the Rolling Stones.
Rubio is spending more time promoting other GOP candidates — and taking jabs at Democratic governor hopeful Alex Sink.
With voter turnout crucial for her chances in the governor’s race, Democrat Alex Sink today asked black pastors to get “souls to polls” on Election Day.
Sink ate a catfish lunch at Jackson Soul Food restaurant in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood and asked black voters for their support. Political analysts say African Americans aren’t as enthusiastic as they were for the 2008 presidential election, but Sink supporters say they’re working to bring out the black vote.
“They’re coming around,” said Henry Crespo, an African-American builder who’s supporting Sink. “People are starting to understand the importance of this election.”
Also today, Sink picked up endorsements from 12 of Florida’s state attorneys, including five Republicans. This morning, former Miami Mayor Joe Carollo, a Republican, appeared with Sink at a campaign stop at Versailles, the Cuban restaurant on Calle Ocho.
And at Miami Beach City Hall, Sink campaigned alongside Obama’s labor secretary, Hilda Solis, former Gov. Bob Graham and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The appearance with an Obama administration official seemed to spur Sink to underscore her moderate leanings.
“I am a fiscal conservative,” Sink told reporters. “I’m very independent-minded.”
Ever punctual, Rick Scott’s bus tour was running so ahead of schedule after a donut breakfast that his caravan had plenty of time to make two unscheduled visits to two more diners before making a fourth planned stop in Santa Rosa Beach.
Scott met with several hundred supporters at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Panama City and made brief stops at a Waffle House and Mike’s Diner before meeting with the Ft. Walton Chamber of Commerce in Walton County.
The rail-thin Scott, who looks as though he never ate one of the fried pastries in his life, then stopped for lunch at the Donut Hole in Santa Rosa Beach.
Rick Scott and his mother Esther at the Donut Hole in Santa Rosa Beach (Photo courtesy Rick Scott campaign)
There, Scott’s crackerjack advance team met with a situation that put their planning skills to the test.
News of a hostage situation and police shooting in Pensacola, where Scott was heading, caused some quick recalculation. Local officials have shut down I-10 where Scott’s convoy was scheduled to travel. Check back later to see if the detour caused a delay.
When Alex Sink visited Century Village’s Democrat club this afternoon, the discussion quickly veered from the arcana of tax policy and public education.
“You’re much prettier in person than on TV,” volunteered a woman in the audience of about 80 people.
Sink thanked her, then complained about how she looked in an August campaign ad.
“I didn’t even recognize myself,” Sink said. “They gave me helmet hair. It was horrible.”
Sink ended her visit to the retirement community in West Palm Beach by asking the audience to tell their friends to vote for her.
“Tell them she’s prettier than she looks on TV,” Sink said.
UPDATE: Alex Sink campaign spokesman Dan McLaughlin slams Scott for new TV ad.
“The ad’s a fraud. Rick Scott is a fraud. All of his attack ads in this campaign have been judged to be false,” McLaughlin said. “If it wasn’t this debate flap it would be something else because he makes these up. They are fabrications just like his entire Medicare fraud scheme was against the government and the taxpayers.”
The ad begins with a clip of Sink featured in one of her own TV ads saying: “And if someone lies or cheats, I hold them accountable.”
“Cheating. Roll the tape,” a voiceover says then launches into a series of television news clips discussing Sink’s breach.
Scott, who dropped another $1.5 million into his campaign this week, began running the ad statewide today, just five days before Tuesday’s election.
Sink set off a firestorm after apparently reading a cell phone message during a commercial break at the debate Monday night. Scott went after her during the debate for breaking the rules, and Sink quickly fired her campaign aide who sent it. Both candidates had agreed not to have any communications with their staff during the hour-long face-off.
CNN later reported that an examination of the audio showed that Sink was told by the hairdresser who handed her a cell phone that the message was from staff before Sink read it. Sink’s campaign did their own audio analysis that found CNN’s conclusions were wrong.
The release of the statewide ad Thursday came as a surprise.
Scott, on the third day of a week-long sweep of the state, has said repeatedly that his campaign had already purchased all of its television air time and did not intend to ad any new advertisements and has instead been releasing web-based ads as well as radio.
Rick Scott frequently says “I’ve never done this before” when asked to weigh in about voting, polls and other political goings-on.
But Scott’s staff made a quintessential campaign stop to get a haircut at the Bent Pole barber shop in Titusville with a busload of reporters – and their cameras – in tow Thursday morning.
Dee Moreland, who’s been cutting hair for 42 years, gave Scott a “1/2-all-over” cut he maintains with a weekly visit to the barber at home in Naples.
Moreland said she was voting for Scott “and not just because I’m cutting your hair today.”
The buzz set Scott back $10.
“That’s fair,” Scott, a multi-millionaire who’s spent more than $60 million of his own fortune on his campaign so far, said.
Moreland wouldn’t say how much he gave her but that “he tipped very well.”
The Tallahassee barber who cuts Gov. Charlie Crist’s hair might welcome a Scott win.
The notoriously tight-fisted Crist always tipped $1 on a $10 haircut. Even with reporters watching.
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