Fla. Democrats Set to Stick to Jan. 29 Vote

TALLAHASSEE, Sept. 22 -- The Florida Democratic Party will stick with a Jan. 29 presidential primary even if it means losing all its nominating convention delegates, a party source said Saturday.

The Democratic National Committee voted last month to strip Florida of its 210 delegates if the state party held a primary before Feb. 5, but it gave state officials until next Saturday to come up with an alternative delegate selection plan, such as caucuses or a vote-by-mail primary, to stay within DNC rules.

But state party leadership has rejected that course, the source said, after a poll of executive committee members found at least 75 percent support for the early primary. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because executive committee members were still being notified of the state party's stance.

State party Chairman Karen L. Thurman, members of the congressional delegation and state legislative leaders scheduled a news conference for Sunday to announce their position.

"On Jan. 29, 2.5 million Floridians are going to go to the polls, and that's more telling than any caucus in Iowa," said Miami-Dade County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Garcia. "We'll be damned for it by some, but I think we're doing the right thing."

Broward County state committeewoman Diane Glasser, who also serves as state party first chair, said that she is fine with the decision, as long as delegates are selected in case they are permitted to attend the convention in Denver next summer.

"I'm not concerned with the DNC," she said.

Democratic Party rules say states cannot hold their 2008 primary contests before Feb. 5, except for Iowa on Jan. 14, Nevada on Jan. 19, New Hampshire on Jan. 22 and South Carolina on Jan. 29.

Phone calls and e-mails to the DNC were not immediately returned.