John McCain and Mitt Romney made final-hour appeals to vote for them — and not the other guy — as Florida Republicans cast ballots Tuesday in a pivotal primary.
"I'm feeling good. Endorsements matter," McCain said, standing alongside his chief supporter in the state, Gov. Charlie Crist, at a waterside St. Petersburg polling station.
As voting began, the four-term Arizona senator kept up his weeklong criticism of Romney's economic record as a one-term Massachusetts governor. But, he said: "The real key, I think, here in Florida is who can keep America safe. Who is it that has got the experience and background and knowledge to take on the challenge of radical Islamic extremism? Governor Romney has no experience there."
Romney was greeting voters elsewhere.
"If you want somebody who understands how Washington works, you can elect the other guy. But if you want somebody who understands how America works, elect me and our team," Romney said in a direct appeal to Floridians at an airport hanger in Jacksonville on Monday night.
"This thing is this close," he said, holding two fingers an inch or so apart. "It's very, very close. And the difference tomorrow is going to be that we have people across Florida who are working to get their friends to go vote."
Florida's primary could solidify one of the two as the GOP front-runner; each hopes a Florida win will provide a burst of energy heading into the virtual national primary next week. The Tuesday contest offers the winner the state's 57 delegates to GOP nominating convention and serves as a gateway to the 20-plus states with nominating contests on Feb. 5.
Voting began at 7 a.m. EST, but more than a million ballots had already been cast, either through the early voting that began Jan. 14 or in absentee ballots returned by mail. A proposed state constitutional amendment on property taxes on the ballot could boost turnout.
McCain and Romney hammered each other on the economy and national security all week; critical phone calls, negative radio ads, and bitter, personal exchanges marked the final days before the primary.
Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who has lost six straight contests, is seeking a win to remain a viable candidate. But he is far behind in the polls, and a poor showing could force him to abandon his bid. Also lagging is Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who hasn't won since the Iowa caucuses nearly a month ago and hardly competed in Florida.
The contest is so tight between McCain and Romney that just about any factor could tip the balance.
More so than his rival, Romney has a get-out-the-vote effort as well as early and absentee voting programs. He's spent considerable time and money in the state in the past year. The recent focus on the economy works in his favor; he's been pushing his private-sector credentials and arguing that he's the most capable to turn the country away from the brink of recession.
Conversely, McCain is backed by Florida's top two Republican elected officials, Sen. Mel Martinez and Crist, and has endorsements from a slew of Florida newspapers. The former Vietnam prisoner of war also has universal name recognition, as well as ownership of an issue important to the large number of veterans and active military in the state — national security.
Terri Rose, 50, a Republican voting in Neptune Beach, said she cast her ballot for McCain.
"I think he would be the best on the security issues," Rose said.
McCain is expected to do well in areas with a strong military presence — Pensacola, Jacksonville, Tampa. He's also hoping for a strong turnout in Miami, with its heavy Cuban-American population, and Orlando, a melting pot. Romney is fighting for the southwest part of the state around Fort Myers and Sarasota; it's much like the Midwest, where he was raised. Another likely stronghold, Palm Beach and Broward County, home to many Northeastern transplants.
Up for grabs is the corridor along Interstate 4 between Tampa and Daytona Beach, a swing area that has seen much growth and is home to roughly two-thirds of the Republican primary vote.
Romney, McCain: Tight race As Fla. votes
Romney, McCain battle for Fla. votes
Republican Mitt Romney sought to lock up the Florida primary by refusing to talk Sunday about little else but the economic jitters confronting the nation. His rivals took different tacks toward the same goal as they fanned out across the Sunshine State.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, lashed top rival John McCain for admitting less familiarity with the economy than foreign affairs, telling an earsplitting rally outside Miami: "No one needs to give me a briefing on the economy. I won't need to choose a vice president that understands the economy — because I know the economy."
A day after McCain accused him of supporting a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, Romney also told a reporter McCain was "lying" before catching himself and saying, "I'm saying he made a dishonest comment. I misspoke."
McCain defended himself at a town hall meeting in Polk City when a questioner challenged the Arizona senator's votes in 2001 and 2003 against Bush administration tax cuts. McCain now says those tax cuts should be made permanent.
"I opposed the tax cuts because I saw no restraint in the growth of spending. We let spending get out of control," said the self-styled maverick.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani contrasted himself with the two in both style and substance.
"Senator McCain and Governor Romney are doing such a good job of attacking each other, how about voting for somebody who's not attacking? Vote for me, Rudy Giuliani," he said while visiting the Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach. "Presidential election is not about name-calling. Presidential election is not about gotcha and almost, like, high school politics."
In Vero Beach, he said: "I've traveled up and down the state of Florida, talked to a lot of people and listened to you. That's why I support a national catastrophe fund. I'm the only Republican candidate in this race supporting it — and I need your vote in order to accomplish it."
Polls show McCain and Romney atop the field, with Giuliani and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee lagging. At stake Tuesday are 57 delegates to the national convention, and momentum heading into the Super Tuesday contests, when more than 20 states hold nominating events on Feb. 5.
Romney held only one public event, a rally in a Cuban-American community. Introduced by his son Craig, who spoke Spanish, the former governor wore Cuban-style guayabera shirt given to him by officials at a Bay of Pigs Museum.
He recalled starting his venture capital firm with support from Latin Americans, including a family from El Salvador whose son was kidnapped and killed by rebels thought to be supported by Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
"I learned that when Castro has money, bad things happen, and I vowed that I would never give in to Fidel Castro, nor must we ever," he said to cheers.
As he shook hands after the rally, Romney asked, "Why are there so many beautiful women here? I haven't figured this out. Cuban-American woman are gorgeous."
A C-Span camera crew also caught him saying of McCain "he's lying," before changing his wording and then returning to the reporter who had asked him about McCain's criticism on Saturday. "Make sure you correct that, OK?" Romney said.
McCain made one stop with Gov. Charlie Crist, a fellow Republican who endorsed him Saturday night. They greeted diners at a Tampa cafe.
"I think it's going to give us momentum in order for us to win next Tuesday," McCain said of Crist's backing.
He later campaigned with Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, who endorsed him Friday, and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee who is now an independent.
The Vietnam veteran also told reporters Iraq is the most important issue facing the nation.
"Even if the economy is the, quote, number one issue, the real issue will remain America's security," McCain said. "And if they choose to say, `Look, I do not need this guy, because he's not as good on home loan mortgages,' or whatever it is, I understand about that, I will accept that verdict. I am running because of the transcendental challenge of the 21st century, which is radical Islamic extremism."
Before hitting Florida's streets, Romney, McCain, Giuliani and Huckabee took advantage of the free media available to them on the Sunday morning talk shows.
Huckabee said he was not surprised by former President Clinton's aggressive tone toward Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in recent weeks. Obama ended up routing Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, in South Carolina's Democratic primary on Saturday.
"There are not two people who are better at street-fighting politics that Bill and Hillary Clinton. I've been telling people a long time, don't underestimate the scrappiness with which they'll approach this race," said Huckabee, who grew up in Bill Clinton's hometown of Hope, Ark.
The former governor added: "The one thing you have to keep your eyes on is that tactics will change but the goal will never, ever fade. That is: win, whatever it takes to do it. They didn't get to where they are ... by just sort of mapping out a plan and saying, `That's what we're going to do, regardless of the results.' If the results start changing, as they did in South Carolina, look for different tactics. They'll do what they think it will require in order to win."
Giuliani, who appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation," acknowledged being surprised by Crist's endorsement of McCain. He also deflected a question about whether he would drop out if he loses Florida, since he previously had said the winner would become the Republican nominee.
"We're going to win in Florida," Giuliani said, laughing. "We have been campaigning here very steadily since the early voting began. There's been an unprecedented, I believe, amount of early voting, so, I think we're going to do very well here."
Romney Wins Michigan …
Could the “call” have been made any sooner last night? Seriously – I don’t think that even 60 seconds had transpired at the top of the hour after the polls closed when Wolf made the announcement. And I thought last week’s call was fairly quick – YIKES!
There really aren’t a lot of ‘in-depth’ comments about last night’s coverage – not that it wasn’t good and mostly enjoyable (as political primary coverage goes), but with the GOP race called so quickly, and Hillary running against someone called “uncommitted” (I’m kidding) – there really wasn’t all that much to discuss. But a few observations:
Technological wizardry as desk art: Can we assume that the ‘floating’ pizza pie chart has been at least temporarily retired? It sat on the desk in front of John King, Gloria Borger and Jeff Toobin for the entire night.
Beck vs. Martin: When I hear Glenn Beck talk about unification and “one America” – I’m almost convinced to check out his program on Headline News. Remember I said almost ... but the pairing of Glenn Beck and Roland Martin last night for analysis was entertaining (in a ‘political’ way) and possibly made you think along different angles – perhaps not necessarily agreeing with one or the other – but it’s good to stretch the brain cells occasionally. I must say, though, that I agree with Roland Martin’s assessment of DNC Chairman Howard Dean’s indifference during the recent potentially destructive Dem ‘dust-up’.
Dems Debate: While Michigan was in focus for the Republicans, the Democrats held a debate in Nevada last night. David Gergen and Candy Crowley gave post-debate reports on the outcome. I kept switching back & forth to MSNBC for awhile until I realized that, for the most part, it was some form of ‘love fest’ – as Anderson described it - or perhaps a ‘temporary reconciliation fest’ – which at least allowed for focused discussion on issues, policies, philosophies, etc. – a welcome change from truly petty accusations flying back & forth. Again, I say that if the Democratic candidates think that any pre-nomination attack is unfair – wait until the GOP sinks their teeth into the fray come September ...
