The Fine Print

Florida's wild expensive election could have big stakes

Florida's bitter, expensive and wild election season will finally lurch to a close on Tuesday.

Voters, besieged by a barrage of political ads, could be forgiven for thinking that the main issues are Medicare fraud, lockstep devotion to President Barack Obama and reckless plans to raise taxes.

But the election's impact on a state with a million residents out of work and hundreds of thousands of homes in foreclosure looms far more prominently than all that campaign vitriol filling airwaves and mailboxes.

"I think that Florida is at a crossroads and so is our country, and the Florida election can make a determination of the future of America," said Gov. Charlie Crist, running as an independent for U.S. Senate.

Crist's decision to leave office after just one term to run for a Senate seat helped spark a frenzied run for governor and marked the first time in more than 100 years that both the governor and all the seats on the Cabinet were open at the same time.

Democrats hope to win back the governor's mansion after 12 years of Republican control and begin to chip away at GOP dominance of the Florida Legislature.

"There's an opportunity here in this election to bring some balance back," said Karen Thurman, chairman of the Florida Democratic Party.

Florida voters could help decide the direction of the country and the state. They could help Republicans seize the U.S. House, give the Legislature a veto-proof majority, or pass amendments that could alter the state's political makeup.

A longer look at Florida's high-stakes election can be found here.

House Republican leader visits "friends" in Florida, says 4 Democrats will lose

House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, made a surprise visit into Tallahassee on Thursday where he stopped by the private Governor's Club for a lunchtime event.

Boehner was coy about his presence in Florida's capital city although he is scheduled to hit a fundraiser in Destin for Republican Steve Southerland later on Thursday. Southerland is challenging U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Monticello in U.S. House District 2 race.

A protest is scheduled near the site of the Southerland fundraiser to highlight what is called Boehner's plan to help with the "corporate takeover" of Washington.

So it was interesting that Boehner refused to say why he was in Tallahassee or at the Governor's Club, whose members include many of the city's most powerful and influential lobbyists.

"I just wanted to have lunch with some of my friends,'' Boehner said.

When asked who his friends in Florida were Boehner said: "I've got lots of friends."

Boehner did heap praise on Southerland, calling him a "great asset to our team."

Boehner added that he expects the GOP to do well in Florida on Election Day and that they will pick up the seats now held by Boyd, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas and U.S. Rep. Ron Klein. He also said the Republicans will win House District 25 race between Democrat Joe Garcia and Republican State Rep. David Rivera.

"We're going to have a very good day,'' Boehner said. "I think there are four races that we can win in Florida, knocking out four incumbents and holding the open seat in South Florida."

Boehner insisted that the policies that have come out of the Democratic Congress and the Obama administration have "made the economy worse" and created "uncertainty" for businesses. And that's why it's "going to be a big election for Republicans in 19 days."