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The Maytag repairman would have felt at home. Tumbleweeds would have been appropriate.
Every time someone pulled into the parking lot at Riviera United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, poll workers beamed, hoping another elusive voter wanted to weigh in on Democratic presidential nomination. During the first seven hours of the day, about three dozen people straggled in.
The foregone conclusion was confirmed Tuesday night: Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry overwhelmingly won Florida's presidential primary, pulling in more than three of every four votes. The only surprise was an exit poll that found Democratic voters in Florida more interested in seeing North Carolina Sen. John Edwards as Kerry's running mate than Florida Sen. Bob Graham.
The last two candidates challenging Kerry for the nomination - ultra-long shots Dennis Kucinich and the Rev. Al Sharpton - received far fewer votes than even Edwards, who left the race last week and still won about 10 percent of the vote.
Kerry also won primaries in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, but was still shy of mathematically clinching the party nomination that he effectively sewed up a week ago when Edwards dropped out.
"George W. Bush is running on the slogan of "steady leadership.' I think that after four years of the same old failed policies, what we've seen is stubborn leadership," Kerry said Tuesday night in Illinois, which holds a March 16 primary. "George Bush stubbornly proposes tax cut after tax cut for the wealthiest Americans while we lose millions of jobs. That's why voters tonight said change is coming to America."
A front-loaded caucus and primary schedule this year left the state that decided the last presidential election sitting on the sidelines as the Democratic nominee was selected. By the time Florida's primary rolled around, all Kerry's serious opponents had dropped out.
Because the Florida ballot was completed in January, it listed most of the vanquished contenders, including Edwards, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. Graham dropped out before the ballot was finalized.
An exit poll for the Associated Press and TV networks found half the Democratic voters preferred Edwards as the running mate for Kerry, while only two in 10 preferred Graham.
In areas of Florida without any other races or issues on the ballot, only the most faithful Democrats showed up.
"It's my duty. It's my obligation to vote," said Dios Dado Bascos of St. Petersburg, who moved from the Philippines 12 years ago and sounded stunned anyone might think he could even consider skipping an election. He said he voted for Kerry because "he proved he was the most popular Democrat."
In Gulfport, which also had a City Council race, Democrat Jane Lawler said she wanted to send a strong message of support for Kerry: "We're a critical part of his campaign, the I-4 corridor, and anything we can do to help is important."
Kerry campaigned in Florida a week ago and again Monday. Before leaving Tampa Tuesday he stopped at the Little Big World Daycare Center and the West Tampa Sandwich Shop, a Democratic campaign staple.
Patron Willie Garcia caught Kerry's attention when the candidate noticed a small silver pin on Garcia's lapel - a silver shoe that became the symbol of Adlai Stevenson's 1952 campaign when a photographer snapped a picture of the candidate's worn shoe.
Garcia said Kerry recognized the pin right away, endearing him to Garcia, who had already planned on voting for Kerry.
"I was for him even when he was at 20 percent," Garcia said of early-season polls. "I thought with his record of service he was eminently prepared to run the country."
Kerry had more than 1,500 of the 2,162 delegates needed to officially claim the nomination heading into Tuesday's Southern primaries. At stake were 465 delegates, including 177 from Florida.
In the meantime, the general election is already in full swing with Kerry and Bush hammering each other. Kerry today plans to meet with Dean to talk about how the former Vermont governor can help the campaign, and hoped to meet with Edwards later in the week.
- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Adam C. Smith can be reached at 727 893-8241 or adam@sptimes.com