Thursday, April 24, 2008

'Florida's back in thick of Demo mess'

Story here.

Just hours after winning the Pennsylvania primary, Democrat Hillary Clinton declared that she has now won more votes than Barack Obama -- if Florida and Michigan's ballots are included.

Her Democratic rival's campaign quickly shot down Clinton's contention that she now leads the popular vote, calling it a ''sketchy notion,'' because neither candidate competed in the two states, Obama's name didn't appear on the Michigan ballot and the national party considers both states' primaries illegitimate.

But with Clinton's campaign claiming momentum after a win in Pennsylvania, she sought Wednesday to intensify her claim to Florida and Michigan, which remain as crucial as ever to her quest for the presidency.

''It's clear that in the states that a Democrat has to carry to win the White House, particularly the big four, Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan and Ohio, it's clear that Sen. Clinton is the best standard-bearer for us in the fall,'' Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell told reporters on a Clinton campaign conference call.

The argument that Clinton won the two states is part of the campaign's effort to woo the influential superdelegates poised to tip the too-close-to-call contest by casting Clinton as the only candidate who can win the big, up-for-grabs states in the fall.

''She's demonstrated she can win in the big swing states,'' said Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, a leading Clinton supporter. . . .

''This has to do with our civil rights,'' said Millie Herrera, a potential Clinton convention delegate and the president of the Hispanic Democratic Caucus of Florida. "No one has the right to invalidate our votes.''

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