Clashing Over Presidential Performance in Florida
Al Cardenas, the former chairman of the Republican Party in Florida, said President Obama may have a tough time in the Sunshine State.
“If he is behind in Florida, going by Florida history, he’s not going to win the general election,” Cardenas said on CNN’s State of the Union.
Arguing that enthusiasm is down and that unemployment is up among young voters who supported Obama in 2008, Cardenas said, “They are in real trouble beyond the polling numbers.”
Not so said Robert Wexler, a former Democratic Congressman from Florida. When asked by host Candy Crowley if he felt the election moving away from the Obama campaign in Florida, he responded with an emphatic “no,” and quickly referenced the Obama campaign’s strong ground game and voter registration efforts.
“The Obama team has registered more voters in Florida than we ever dreamed,” Wexler said.
However, the Hispanic vote could play a large role in deciding Florida.
“He has broken all of his promises to Hispanics,” Cardenas said. “How do you trust someone to do what he hasn't done in four years?”
Wexler countered by citing Mitt Romney’s tough policies on immigration.
“He was to the right of Newt Gingrich,” Wexler said.
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