Twenty-five unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, were initially able to cast their votes at the Democratic National Convention.
The Florida Democratic Party tried to amend the legislation and make the date February 5; however, the Republican-controlled legislature refused.
[9]Clinton's supporters argued that Michigan and Florida's citizens should participate in the nomination processes, and that it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to overlook the two huge battleground states that might be crucial in the November general election.
[1] Critics charged that changing the rules in this way was unfair and that Clinton's position was motivated purely by political expediency.
[10][11][12] Among their arguments was that neither Clinton nor her campaign had made any public protest when Florida's punishment had first been announced in August 2007;[1] that Clinton was adopting this position only after results from the first primaries had made it apparent that the campaign was not running the way she had expected;[1] that Clinton, along with other candidates, had signed the pledge not to campaign or participate in Florida;[1] and that at the time the pledge was signed, Clinton's then-campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle had proclaimed that We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process...We believe the DNC's rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role.
[1]Candidates Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich, and Bill Richardson dropped out of the presidential race before the Florida primary.
[13] Although Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards had pledged not to campaign in the state, supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton conducted unofficial campaign efforts, and over 350,000 Democratic voters cast early ballots as of January 25, 2008.
On Election Day, Clinton returned to Florida and held a rally after polls closed to celebrate her victory.
However, the cost of an all mail-in Florida Primary had been estimated at more than $4 million, a price tag that neither the DNC nor the state party was willing to pay.
[22] Republican Governor Charlie Crist announced his support for another Democratic Primary, though he opposed using government funds to cover the expenses.
"[23] On Friday, March 7, 2008, Newsweek reported: "A plan to raise soft money to pay for a second Florida Democratic primary -- this one by mail -- seems close to approval, according to Sen. Bill Nelson.
While Edwards won a number of rural, predominantly white and conservative counties in the Florida Panhandle, Obama took in more of the vote in Pensacola and Tallahassee which enabled him to win more in the congressional districts.