First a little info about central FL and myself. I live in the county next door to the west being Lake county... we are a republican county, rural and suburban.. and we have the Villages (old republicans from all over the country that was developed by a power hungry republican, where Palin drew a large crowd) in the north which is heavily republican, unlike Orange county where Orlando is located. in 2000 Gore won Orange by 6000 votes and 2004 Kerry barely won Orange by a pathetic 800 votes (more on this later). This time around Dems now have a huge part ID advantage in Orange (77000 more dems than republican vs. 28,000 in 2004) and so far the early vote tallies have Dems outvoting the GOP by 40% in the county!!! www.ocfelections.com
So I believe Obama will easily carry Orange and if he can make Lake county, where I live, competitive it will mean he will carry the state of FL. I have volunteered canvassing locally and have met a lot of Dems who are energized and have met republicans who are quiet about it, but plan on voting for Obama! the point is Central FL is very important and if we can carry the entire region by a few points, with our strength in South Florida it will swamp the republican strength in north florida.
Read More