No
Rest For the Weary: Eyes on FL for 2016
Posted November 05, 2014 06:50 am
TALLAHASEE, FL– Floridians are waking up today to discover the outcome of their state and local races. While there may also seem to be a reprieve from the barrage of campaign ads, candidates and their staffs are hard at work preparing for the 2016 presidential election.
With Senator Marco Rubio and former Governor Jeb Bush both tossed out as possible names for the Republican primary - Jill Hanauer, president and CEO with Project New America, predicts there will be no rest for the weary.
"We're going to see candidates from Marco Rubio to Jeb
Bush, both Floridians, all over the country now,
particularly Republican candidates posturing themselves
and I believe really trying to appeal to base
conservative Republican primary voters," says Hanauer.
According to the Center for Public Integrity,
approximately 150,000 campaign television ads were aired
in Florida, which cost more than $81 million, more than
any other state-level races.
When it came to early voting in Florida, women turned
out in significantly higher numbers in the 2014 midterm,
compared to numbers in 2010 - increasing by 500,000
according to the Florida Institute for Reform and
Empowerment (F.I.R.E.). Stephanie Porta, spokesperson
with F.I.R.E., explains what might be a factor in their
turnout.
"Many women in Florida are juggling having to go to
work, manage childcare and other important obligations
on Election Day," she says. "Early voting really gives
women an option to bypass the potentially long lines on
Election Day, to cast a vote."
Though television ads were used in high numbers in this
election, Hanauer believes this year could be the
turning point as campaigns realize they're not reaching
the key youth vote.
"The voters of the new America and the changing
demographics, they're watching it on Hulu, so they're
not seeing the negative ads, but the conservative,
Republican base is seeing it more," she says.
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