Obama’s victory marks shift in society

BY STEPHEN D. PRICE, FLORIDA TODAY
November 10, 2008

TALLAHASSEE -- Barack Obama's election as the 44th president Tuesday broke political and racial barriers in the Sunshine State.

Obama was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win a statewide race in a dozen years, when former President Clinton won Florida.

He's the first northern Democrat to win Florida since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Obama also became the only black candidate to win a statewide race in Florida, outside of Reconstruction.

His election marks not only a change in politics, but in society as well.

"A lot of boys will pull their pants up," said state Sen. Tony Hill, a Democrat from Jacksonville. "They have a role model now. No longer will black males have any excuse. . . Tuesday night Sen. Obama took all the excuses off the table."

The political winds in Florida will never be the same, some observers say, as more Democrats and more non-Cuban Hispanics who vote Democratic, move to the state.

"The state's demographics are changing," said Lance DeHaven-Smith, a professor of public administration at Florida State University. "I'm sure the economy had something to do with it, too."

The political shift was first seen in 2000, when former Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore drew a lot from the non-Cuban Hispanics who had moved to Central Florida, though he narrowly lost, DeHaven-Smith said.

"They're winning Tampa, Orlando . . . It's basically an urban base," DeHaven-Smith said. "You couldn't have possibly done that before 2000."

I-4 corridor decisive
Obama won counties in the famed I-4 corridor, which cuts from Tampa through Daytona Beach, and includes a slice of independent voters who practically decided if Florida will be a red or blue state. In Orange County, for example, Obama beat McCain by 85,000 votes.

Former state Sen. Les Miller, whose district included the I-4 corridor, said voters there were swayed by the slumping economy and a well-organized campaign.

"They had volunteers all over the place, knocking on doors," Miller said.

'Here I am'
Obama was also boosted by Jewish support, with endorsements from U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a Broward County Democrat, and Obama's state co-chairwoman, Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter.

"That support was huge," Hill said. "He did a full-court press in Florida."

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry only campaigned in South Florida, Hill said. Obama campaigned around the state and had to make up for time lost when party rules kept him from campaigning in Florida during the primary.

Obama "went out in those rural areas and said, 'Here I am,' " Hill said. "He met them where their needs are, on their front porch."

Obama cut a political trail for other Democrats to test, Hill said.

Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida NAACP, said she cried Election Day as the nation elected its first black president, but she added that the fight for civil rights remains.

"It does not signal an eradication of all our ills," Nweze said. "We will always have a need for civil rights organizations."

Still, she was surprised that Florida, which had been a tossup state, supported Obama.

"Just when you think you know your state, you don't."

Staff writer Kaustuv Basu contributed to this report.