- Poignant final words from Davis, and that’s a wrap
- Crist speech over, the real party begins
- Davis entourage takes the podium
- Crist goes on before Davis’ concession speech
- Davis concedes
- Maps are bleeding
- ‘Tude takes a downturn at Davis camp
- Crist about to give victory speech
- Waiting game at the Crist headquarters
- MSNBC barely makes a ripple
- Busanky concedes
- Fat lady HASN’T sung, Davis camp insists
- What, us worry?
- Crist Wins Says MSNBC, AP
- Keeping hope alive at the Davis camp
Keith Cate, Crist party HQ:
Here we go! This party is now in full swing. Frank Sinatra is singing “I Get a Kick out of You.” I guess the Crist camp prefers Big Band tunes.
The room is now full of people standing around in huddles, holding glasses of icy cold beverages and tiny plates full of fancy pastries. Some are taking pictures, others are watching the big-screen televisions in the corners of the room. There is no sound and no closed captioning. Thank goodness for Chyron operators who at least put the information on the bottom of the screens showing various house races, but no local results.
I’m thinking I should suggest they tune to WFLA-TV. Bob and Gayle will be doing cut-ins every hour from seven until midnight. I’ve had several people stop by the media stage to say hello. I’m hoping their moods don’t change should the poll results not be in their candidate’s favor later in the evening.
We’re not getting many details yet about how this race is unfolding aside from the Associated Press, which has Crist leading 57 to 40 percent with 2 percent of the precincts reporting. I’ll be making contact with the station in a few minutes to get more information. I also have various people in the Crist camp who offer inside information from time to time. So far, they seem more concerned with hosting a great party. They have two huge spotlights outside the Vinoy that makes this place look like it’s hosting a Hollywood premier.
Time to go. They just started playing “This Joint is Jumping.” It’s one of my favorites.
From Julie Pace, Crist party HQ:
There are two giant television screens in the corners of the ballroom. Since we arrived here at 4 p.m., the televisions have been turned to CNN for their continuing election coverage. But a few minutes ago, something caught my eye—TomKat (that’s Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, for those of you not up-to-date on your pop culture news).
“Is this coverage of Tom and Katie going to the polls?” I thought to myself.
Nope. It’s Extra.
From Peter Bernard, Tarpon Springs:
At the St. Nicholas Community Center in Tarpon Springs, Gus Billirakis supporters are gathering for what people here hope will be a victory party. The room is filled with people taking advantage of the bar and waiting for promised Greek music, food and dancing. The Billirakis family is steeped in Greek tradition. Congressman Michael Billirakis is an early arrival. He is retiring after 24 years in Washington. Gus himself plans to arrive later in the night. Let the baklava flow!
Rod Carter, Nelson party HQ:
Senator Bill Nelson is supposed to be here by now. Fact is, he was supposed to be here an hour ago. But guess what, Mother Nature had different plans. The senator is delayed by more than an hour because of bad weather in Orlando. Staffers say they can’t get in touch with him, but they’re confident he’s on the way and should be here soon. He actually lives about 20 minutes from the Embassy. To put things in perspective, I have relatives who live in Orlando, and my uncle called on his way home from work and told me the traffic was a mess.
On a different note, the ballroom at the Embassy is starting to fill up with an eclectic group of supporters. It holds 400 people, and organizers are expecting it to be packed.
Karen Branch-Brioso, Carrollwood:
The sun has set. But with the polls 45 minutes away from being closed, Precinct 554 – Grace Lutheran Church in Carollwood – is hopping with the after-work crowd.
The parking lot is filling up. The lines are growing. People like Rick Shelton, 50, say a little rain couldn’t have kept him away.
“I had an umbrella, just in case,” Shelton said. “I pretty much vote every election. I feel like it’s my duty.”
Ditto for Yun Chang, 40. The physician just got off work and wouldn’t have missed this vote. He says tort reform is important to him and he likes the way U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson – a Democrat – and Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist support limits on malpractice awards.
He says the turnout this late in the game is a good sign.
“People are still coming out,” he marvels at the line at the precinct behind him. “They’ve been saying turnout is only going to be 50-55 percent, but I feel there’s going to be more than that in this area.”
From Julie Pace, Crist party: The polls just closed about 30 minutes ago, but these pesky reporters are already trying to predict a winner (not photojournalist Crystal Lauderdale and I, though. We’re not pesky....).
According the the Florida board of elections Web site, Crist is off to an early lead. A big early lead. The state is reporting 60 percent (39,191) for Crist, and 37 percent (24,999) for Davis.
“Huge lead for Crist,” one local television reporter just yelled.
“Of course it’s a huge lead for Crist,” another reporter responded.
It’s way too early to call anything, but we’ll keep you posted on the numbers that start flying around the party.
From Anthony McCartney, traveling to the Davis party: Outside Precinct 309, we caught up with Jim Davis and got a few last thoughts on the campaign. Last-minute voters were still trickling in, and Davis commented on the wet weather. (Audio coming.)
From Julie Pace, Crist Party: There’s no sign of Charlie Crist or his running mate, Jeff Kottkamp. Without one of the big two around, we went to the next best source—Kottkamp’s 11-year-old nephew, Austin Sulrzycki. Austin is attending his first campaign party. He’s a little nervous, but is pulling for his uncle, who could be Florida’s next lieutenant governor. (Audio coming.)
From Jackie Barron, Sarasota: Oh no...here we go! For some voters in Sarasota County the election, ended with frustration and a demand for ballot accountability. Sound familiar? Ah, Florida.
Late yesterday the county’s phone system went down. Anyone trying to reach county offices couldn’t get through. As a result, those needing the latest bus schedules to catch a ride to the polls felt stranded. The Supervisor of Elections Office—with a wonderful array of workers and volunteers—worked all day to sort out the mess.
But that’s nothing compared to the complaints about touchscreen voting machines. Potentially as many as a dozen, maybe more, early voters have voiced concerns after a review of their ballot showed they hadn’t voted in the District 13 U-S House Race. That’s the contest between Republican, millionaire, car dealer Vern Buchanan and democrat, millionaire, banker Christine Jennings. Its a nasty one. Both sides have been tearing into each other for weeks.
As recently as this afternoon when my partner, photojournalist Jim Hockett, went to Hot Diggety Dog for lunch, the woman behind the counter made sure to announce, “It happened to me too.”
Today the Jennings camp called a press conference about it. Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent blamed it on voter oversight, saying, “Sometimes voters just don’t get it right.”
That really ticked them off.
Good news ... the review system worked, the correct votes were cast and counted.
Bad News ... if at the end of the night a small number of votes separates Buchanan from Jennings, you know how that goes.
From Claudia DoCampo, Pasco County: I’m covering the 5th Congressional District and, even though we had a heavy rainstorm in the area, it looks like there’s been good voter turnout. I spoke with Democrat John Russell who told me he’s cautiously optimistic. He was amazed at how many people he saw at the polls today. He believes many Republican voters are breaking ranks and voting for him. Republican incumbent Ginny Brown-Waite was also out campaigning until the last moment. She spent the morning in Pasco county and the afternoon in Hernando county. She has a strong supporter base in both counties. She, too, is optimistic and believes there’s a high probability that she’ll be re-elected.
Julie Pace, Crist Party: There are a few early birds at the party, and the organizers have decided to strike up the band.
Well, it’s more like a CD of a band, but the atmosphere feels a little more festive. If you’ve never had a chance to go to an election night party, here’s a slice of the sounds we’re hearing now. Hope you enjoy big band music. (Audio coming.)
From Keith Cate, Crist HQ: It’s now 6:30. Two live shots down and a few more to go before this night is over. If you were watching me on TV a few minutes ago, you may have noticed me pulling something out of my ear. We call that an IFB, which stands for interference feedback, or something like that. It is an earpiece that looks like a wireless hearing aid. When reporters are on live, they use the IFB to hear the anchors and producers. I grabbed mine out of my ear because there was an incredible delay due to a phone problem. In other words, every word I spoke I heard it echo back to me about one second later. The only thing worse is trying to talk with other reporters talking beside you, saying things similar to what you are saying.
And that brings me back to the reason we are here. Charlie Crist campaign workers are now starting to arrive. They are wearing white T-shirts with the candidate’s name across the front in blue. The food is now spread across several tables, and there is a rumbling in the hallway leading into the banquet room where supporters will eventually start watching the returns on two large-screen televisions.
Interesting: they have it turned to CNN. I would have thought that Republicans would be watching FOX News.
Another behind the scenes observation from the reporting ranks: TV news operations are by nature very competitive, but when we are all huddled together at massive events like this one, there is a sense of brotherhood. Camera and tech guys often help each other with their gear. Need tape? I got it. How do you mount this on your tripod? Here, I’ll show you. You get the idea. Reporters who rarely see each other introduce themselves and talk shop. Where were you before Orlando? How long have you been in Tampa? What kind of makeup are you using? Okay that last one I made up … but believe me, there is a lot of primping that goes on seconds before a live shot.
Time to wrap it up. If you have a question, send me an email at kcate@wfla.com. My role here is to watch and wait and give you a sense of the room.
Jim Davis is stumping for last-minute votes outside the Cathedral of Faith church on North 30th Street.
Davis arrived about an hour late and has been shaking hands with the handful of supporters who remained.
He has also tried to appeal to some of the last few people walking into the polling place.
One woman approached him, trying to get Davis’ stance on a variety of issues, including schools, property taxes.
Davis gave her his many of his talking points.
When she asked how he’s responded to negative adds aired against him, Davis told the woman that his opponent, Charlie Crist, has spent $40 million to try to win the governor’s race.
The woman, after listening to Davis, told him she’d give him her vote, but would watch him and if he won, was going to see how his actions stacked up to his rhetoric outside the church.
In his short stop here, Davis has seemed relaxed and upbeat. He traded stories with State Senate Candidate Arthenia Joyner and recounted how hard it has rained since he criss-crossed the state today.
From Julie Pace: The spread is on it’s way out, and it smells good. Here’s what’s on the menu tonight for the folks at the Crist party:
-Mini beef Wellington
-Tomato aioli
-Baby lamb chops
-Spinach and feta cheese
Yum. Unfortunately, that’s all off limit to journalists. We’re feasting on turkey and chicken salad sandwiches from the bar. Only the best.
Rod Carter: Things are really popping at the Nelson Camp right now ... but necessarily in a good way. The staffers are filling ballons with air and every so often, one gets full and pops. One ballon pop actually scared a campaign worker so bad, he nearly fell. I told him I was going to take his picture.
Advertisement
