I just got back from a business trip in which I drove from Gainesville in North Florida to Lake Placid in south Florida. I took I-75 to the Turnpike, then got off on U.S. 27 for the long stretch from Clermont to Lake Placid. While my colleague drove, I amused myself by looking for Obama/McCain bumper stickers and yard signs.
The first odd thing was that there were almost no bumper stickers of either candidate - just one for Obama. This was unusual because for the last two elections in Florida, "W" stickers were everywhere. As for yard signs, there were of course none to see on the Interstate and Turnpike. After we got on the state road, however, there weren't as many as I expected. That part of Central to South Florida has been solidly Republican in the past.
I did see many local candidate signs, but McCain signs were conspicuously absent. For the long stretch from Clermont to Avon Park, the count was four McCain to 3 Obama. Avon Park seemed to be a hotbed of rampant Republicanism, as the McCain count jumped quickly to 14. Then there was another stretch where it was about even, three McCain to two Obama. Finally, Lake Placid (a community with a lot of relatively wealthy citrus growers) proved to be McCain country also. Even where there were McCain signs, however, they were mostly tiny one foot square signs that you could hardly see from the road.
Interestingly, even in the two solid McCain areas I didn't see any McCain bumper stickers. Not even on the cars with American flag, Jesus is Lord or Choose Life stickers. I don't mean to insult anybody with this comment, it's just that in the last two elections those were the vehicles that almost always were proudly festooned with "W" decals.
So take this little observation for what it's worth. My analysis is that the reliably Red country of Central to South Central Florida may be much more in play this year. Or at least the McCainiacs don't seem to have as much enthusiasm as the Bushmen did.