"Huge Swing" for Dems in Florida

Anthony Man of the Broward County Florida's Sun-Sentinel reports on the tremendous inroads Democrats are making in southern Florida, as well as the long-term implications of their success:

In the 1980s, charismatic and popular President Reagan helped bring a generation of voters into the Republican Party, where they stayed for years, affecting the balance of power in Congress and in state governments.

Robert Wexler (U.S. Rep.D- Delray Beach,& co-chair of Obama's Florida campaign) sees Obama repeating the same thing today with first-time voters such as Jonathan Caprio — who registered to vote Friday at Southwest Regional Library in Pembroke Pines — joining the Democratic Party.

"I'm excited to vote for whoever is running for the Democrats," he said. "I don't have much of a choice. I don't really like the other party."

Michael Martinez, an associate professor of political science at the University of Florida, said there aren't many people shifting from the Republicans to the Democrats. But the allegiance of first-time voters is significant.

"New voters tend to identify with the hot party at the time. In the 1980s, a lot of new voters were identifying with Reagan, because he was sort of the hot commodity," Martinez said.

A reverse Reagan Revolution? I think alot of Republicans already smell the change in the air this year. . .or maybe that's another smell entirely.