WASHINGTON — For front-runners Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, Florida looked to be a major battleground in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination war. With its big, sprawling population, the state was a natural for high-profile candidates who could afford costly campaigns, and the prize was a whopping 210 delegates.
But now, because of unexpected circumstances, those delegates could go to a candidate most Americans don't even know is running — a crusty former senator from Alaska named Mike Gravel. Or maybe to Dennis Kucinich, the quixotic peace candidate who barely registers in the polls.
It sounds like just another wacky political dust-up from the land of hanging chads and butterfly ballots. But the problem is considered so serious that Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and state party officials are embroiled in frantic, behind-the-scenes negotiations to stave off a potential disaster that could spread across the nation.
The trouble sprang from a decision by Florida lawmakers to jump to an earlier spot on the primary election calendar, following the lead of other big states that have become tired of voting too late to have a meaningful say in choosing each party's nominee.
But where California, Illinois and many other states set their primaries for Feb. 5 of next year, Florida opted to leap ahead to Jan. 29 — a week earlier than allowed under Democratic Party rules.
And that has triggered mayhem.
Stung by Florida's decision, national Democratic officials have vowed to enforce party rules that strip delegates from any state that moves too early in the calendar, and also from candidates who campaign in those states.
As things stand now, Clinton, Obama and other prominent contenders might not be eligible to win any Florida delegates, although the state offers as much as 10 percent of the total needed to win the Democratic nomination. Under one scenario, it could turn out that no Democratic candidate gets any Florida delegates.
"The alternative is chaos," said Mitchell Berger, a Fort Lauderdale fundraiser for former Sen. John Edwards, a top-tier Democratic candidate. "I'm encouraging everybody to calm down, take a deep breath and figure this out."
But Republicans in the Florida Legislature — supported by many Democrats — pushed through a measure setting Jan. 29 as the date for their state's presidential primary. Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, is expected to sign the bill.
Tension over the 2008 calendar is especially high because, for the first time in a half-century, there are competitive primaries in both parties. The GOP plans to strip Florida of about half its delegates to the national convention if the early primary is held.
All credit to the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle at :http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4820881.html