Democrats doomed in Florida, for 2006 that is!

The latest Orlando Sentinel polls came out in yesterday's paper, and it spells doom for Florida Democrats.

In the race for governor, both Democratic candidates, Jim Davis and Rod Smith, have very low name identification. In this Mason/Dixon - Orlando Sentinel poll, 46% of the sample didn't recognized Jim Davis' name. As far as State Senator Rod Smith, a whopping 70% had never heard of Rod Smith. And, honestly, I think those numbers are higher.

When asked who Democratic voters would vote for in the Democratic primary for governor, 52% of the voters, a majority, didn't know who they were going to vote for. Again, people have never heard of these candidates. So, therefore, I think we can see a record low turnout for the upcoming primary.

But these numbers just expose an overall problem for the Democratic Party. The Democrats have done a poor job recruiting candidates. If they do recruit a candidate, they just find a person, usually a lawyer, and run them. This is the case in many of their races around the state. They just assume that if you are an attorney then you are a qualified candidate.

On the other hand, Republicans have been looking at the whole picture. They look at all occupations. Yes, they even look at lawyers (Tom Feeney is a lawyer). But they also look at overall standing in the community. They want to see if these candidates have a connection to the people that would eventually elect them. They also look at other aspects, like church and club connections.

The Florida Democratic Party needs to realize that recruiting candidates isn't a few-month process. Many of the candidates that are running on the Democratic side have been recruited just a few months prior to the election. Whereas many Republican candidates have been running for a year or more.

What do Democrats need to do? They need to do is to 'create' candidates. What do I mean by this? Well, Democrats should recruit candidates in 2005 to run for state house, senate, or whatever for the 2008 campaign year, not 2006. This gives candidates time to raise money, created local ties, know key lobbyist, and know their voters over a longer period of time.

So, why is this good? One, more money can be raised. It is easier to raise money over a three year period than a few month period. Second, and the most important, a candidate can grow as a leader in the community and understand the needs of the voters. And three, it is a lot stressful to try to make contacts, attend events, raise money and so-on in a few months than over the course of a few years. Basically, start early, get money early, know people early, know issues early, know voters early, less stress later. This is a game plan Democrats need to do.

But too much recruiting is done at the last minute. Yes, this might work for Orrin Hatch in Utah, but it doesn't happen here. And with term limits, and the lack of creating leaders in the Legislature, it is important to create leaders at the local level.

Hopefully Democrats will embrace this tactic. But I feel that Democrats want 'results now' instead of waiting.

Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither was the Republican majority. Our comeback won't be built in a day either.