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News Junkies Face Post-Election Withdrawal

Carl Orth/SUNCOAST

Pasco County Sheriff Bob White, right, a Republican, narrowly turned back a challenge from Democrat Kim Bogart, left, in Tuesday's General Election.

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: November 7, 2008

Updated:

Election news junkies are going into withdrawal after the historic - and long - presidential election put Democrat Barack Obama in the White House.

One local Web site, the self-proclaimed government oversight Watchdog, was closing up shop and going into hibernation. "Our job is done," the site's editor, Paul Van Schaick, wrote. "Like the Lone Ranger, we ride off into the sunset until needed again!"

The conservative-leaning site, which in a footnote states "We advise that we are conservative family value type of folks," had endorsed all the winning candidates. "In my humble opinion, we have the best run county in Florida," Van Schaick later added in an e-mail message. "I wish the President-elect much luck and hope he can do the job. If not, we will be sure to be here again in 2012!"

A local Republican Web site still holds high the torch for defeated GOP presidential nominee John McCain.

Club Politico targets a Pasco Hispanic audience at www.club-politico.org/. By Wednesday, a headline had appeared on the site, "Socialist Barak Hussein Obama Elected President - The Bolsheviks are coming!" Farther down the site's home page is another headline, "We Tried for America's Best Hope," presumably referring to McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.

Included is a link to an Obama-bashing Web site brought to you by the Republican National Committee at www.meetbarackobama.com.

"Learn the real story about Illinois' freshman senator," the site says.

While Obama thumped McCain in the presidential sweepstakes, Pasco County remained a safe haven for Republicans, a port in the storm one might say.

McCain carried Pasco County. That wasn't a surprise, but he did so with only a smidgen more than 51 percent of the vote here. President Bush collected 54 percent of the Pasco vote in 2004.

Voter turnout

The Pasco voter turnout is estimated at 73.6 percent, a tick above the 72.15 percent of registered voters who showed up at the polls in 2004. All 2008 figures are unofficial totals from the Pasco Supervisor of Elections office.

"I think the surge in early voting and absentees before Election Day had an impact" on the 2008 Election Day turnout, Pasco Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley said Wednesday.

This year 35 percent of Pasco voters were cast during early voting or via absentee ballots.

"Also, the weather contributed. It was chilly overcast and rain appeared imminent throughout the day," Corley declared.

The real story on turnout, though, is early voting, according to Corley. "If you look at how early voting participation has increased each cycle, it's amazing! For example we had just under 30,000 for the 2004 General (Election) and this time 68,818. It appears that this option for voting has taken off and in my opinion and will continue to grow in popularity."

GOP bastion

Republicans here turned back all Democratic challengers.

Locally, only the sheriff's race was competitive. Republican incumbent Bob White won a third term with 49.72 percent of the vote, compared to 47.8 percent for Democratic challenger Kim Bogart. Unaffiliated candidate Bobby Kinzy might have played the role of spoiler, siphoning off 2.47 percent of the votes in the hotly contested sheriff's race.

The next lowest margins of victory were 53 percent for Republican incumbent Superintendent of Schools Heather Fiorentino, in her first re-election bid, and GOP incumbent Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, in her sixth.

GOP chief insights

"I won my county," Pasco Republican Executive Committee Chairman Bill Bunting said Wednesday, basking in the GOP clean sweep of local races. "We won it for McCain. Every single Republican was swept back into office."

The winning strategy in Pasco had targeted independents, Bunting said. People are "fed up with the status quo" in the country.

Volunteers manning the Pasco GOP phone banks made the big difference, Bunting thinks.

Also, Bunting, a longtime Second Amendment supporter, recorded one automated telephone messages that 11,000 Pasco gun owners received.

Looking ahead, Bunting hopes he can "reach into my bag of tricks" and bring Palin, the governor of Alaska, to the 2009 Pasco County Reagan Day Dinner. Bunting will enlist Gov. Charlie Crist's help to sway her.

The future looks so bright Bunting might have to wear shades. "I've got so many young people involved now they'll be coming up on the executive committee."

A somber note was struck when dissecting the failed McCain-Palin campaign.

"Pocketbook issues," such as the stock market tumble last month, pretty much doomed McCain's chances. "McCain is a statesman but I think he needed to come out swinging. Any questions on Obama's past associations were met with accusations of racism."

Bunting gave credit to the Obama campaign. "Their ground game was superb." But now Obama faces high expectations for his administration. "As time passes" and people look at the origins of Obama campaign money, Bunting foresees some "interesting discussion."

Democratic chief insights

"I'm proud of all the candidates," Alison Berke Morano, the Pasco County Democratic Executive Committee chairperson, said Wednesday. She already has gotten e-mails from potential future Pasco Democratic candidates, despite the GOP clean sweep this time.

"It's so different" in 2008, Morano said. "People weren't just running to win. They were running to change their lives. It was more personal this time."

"They were in a good place," Morano said about Democratic volunteers here. The mood was much better than 2004. "We did a lot to close that gap."

Morano also did a lot of statewide work as vice chair of the Democratic County Chairs Association through the Florida Democratic Party. She also had traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire during the election cycle to see firsthand the inner workings of a presidential campaign.

"It was one of the greatest campaigns people have ever seen," Morano said in describing the "Herculean undertaking" of the Obama campaign.

"I don't think McCain lost, I think Obama won."

The lone Democrat

GOP chief Bunting believes first-term Pasco Commissioner Michael Cox should be "nervous" about his re-election chances in 2010. Cox is the lone Democrat on the five-member County Commission.

Morano was surprised to hear Bunting considers Cox politically vulnerable.

"People love him," Morano said of the former Port Richey mayor. "He reaches across the aisle. He's a good guy."

Cox responded: "I prefer to put my county in front of my party. Mr. Bunting is only concerned about partisan party politics. Shame on him! The fact is that I have a strong record that I intend to run on, I will raise significant money to fund my campaign and I am not afraid to aggressively campaign."

Pasco results

COUNTY COMMISSION, DIST. 1

Ted Schrader (REP) - 158,559 (95.95%)

Write-in - 6,691 (4.05%)

COUNTY COMMISSION, DIST. 3

Ann Hildebrand (REP) - 104,881 (53.16%)

Teresa "Terri" Conroy (DEM) - 92,395 (46.84%)

COUNTY COMMISSION, DIST. 5

Jack Mariano (REP) - 105,785 (54.10%)

Virginia "Ginny" Miller (DEM) - 89,750 (45.90%)

CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT

Paula O'Neil (REP) - 115,548 (57.41%)

Robert N. Altman (DEM) - 85,718 (42.59%)

SHERIFF

Bob White (REP) - 103,605 (49.72%)

K. S. "Kim" Bogart (DEM) - 99,605 (47.80%)

Bobby Kinzy (NPA) - 5,148 (2.47%)

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS

Heather Fiorentino (REP) - 107,942 (53.18%)

Steve Donaldson (DEM) - 95,020 (46.82%)

SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS

Brian E. Corley (REP) - 111,257 (55.66%)

Pat Carroll (DEM) - 88,638 (44.34%)

More election results are available online at www.pascovotes.com.

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