No Go on Florida Revote

By Rick Moran

Florida Democrats have given up all hope of holding another nominating contest that would allow them representation at the Convention in August:

The Florida Democratic Party chairwoman on Monday officially buried the possibility of redoing the state’s disputed January presidential primary, saying there was no practical or affordable way to conduct a new election.

The chairwoman, Karen L. Thurman, essentially threw up her hands after failing to secure approval for a new election from state officials or the campaigns of Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

She said in a statement late Monday that party officials in Florida had proposed such a plan last week. It was unceremoniously shot down, she said. “Thousands of people responded,” Ms. Thurman said. “

We spent the weekend reviewing your messages, and while your reasons vary widely, the consensus is clear: Florida doesn’t want to vote again. So we won’t.”

The decision leaves the fate of the state’s 211 Democratic convention delegates in limbo, with no plan on the table for determining whether or how they will be seated at the Democratic National Convention in August.

There is still a chance that some plan involving splitting the delegates can be worked out prior to the convention. But it appears more and more likely that the controversy will go all the way to the credentials committee and prehaps even the floor of the convention.