Democrats fight each other over Florida primary (Roundup)

Oct 4, 2007, 20:33 GMT

Washington - Two Democratic senators sued their own party Thursday in a worsening spat over the date of the Florida primary, a key ballot in the buildup to the 2008 US presidential election.

Squabbling has festered within the centre-left party since Florida Democrats defied the national party last spring and moved up the vote to January 29, seeking more prominence in the primaries for the nation's fourth most populous state.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC), the party's national headquarters, has threatened to strip Florida of its delegates at next year's party convention that formally names the Democratic candidate for the November 4, 2008 presidential election.

The suit by US Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, alleges that the DNC's effort to exclude Florida breaches the US constitution and federal law.

Nelson said he is defending the rights of more than 4 million registered Democratic voters in the state, which has held its primary in March in recent presidential election years.

'The issue in front of us is simple: It's a case of fundamental rights versus party rules,' he told reporters. 'It's about the principle of one person, one vote.'

The suit also attacks a decision by Democratic candidates not to campaign at public rallies in Florida before the dispute is settled. For now, presidential hopefuls are only attending private fund- raisers in the state.

Nelson compared that restriction to the notorious 'poll tax' once used in the US South to exclude blacks from voting.

'Paying for political participation is unacceptable, just as a poll tax was unacceptable,' he said.

Florida is a particularly sensitive battleground because of the furore over the state's role in the 2000 presidential election.

Irregularities and challenges in Florida took that election to the US Supreme Court, which in effect anointed George W Bush as the winner over Democratic rival and former vice president Al Gore.

Under DNC rules for 2008, only Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina can hold primary contests before February 5 - the day known as Super Tuesday when a large group of states holds primaries, most likely deciding who will be the Democratic nominee.

Former first lady Hillary Clinton, now a US senator from New York state, leads the crowded field for the Democratic nomination. A poll this week bolstered her dominant position, finding for the first time that she has support from more than 50 per cent of Democrats.

She widened her lead over US Senator Barack Obama to 33 percentage points, the Washington Post-ABC News poll said.