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 Crist won almost 75 percent of Democratic votes in a widely
expected defeat of a primary challenger. But voter turnout, a dismal
17.6 percent statewide, highlighted his vulnerabilities in key
regions.
Some of the lowest levels afflicted the Democratic base in south
Florida. Republican enthusiasm outpaced the Democratic showing in
the critical swing region in the central part of the state, said
Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of
South Florida in Tampa.
"The No. 1 challenge facing Democrats right now is that they have to
work hard to inject enthusiasm into their base," she said, noting
that Democrats struggle with low turnout during midterm elections.
With Republican Governor Rick Scott and Crist virtually tied in the
polls ahead of November's general election, the race is becoming one
of the most expensive contests nationally. Blistering television ad
wars have begun.
Democrats last won a governor's race in Florida two decades ago.
Their path to victory requires racking up vote counts in
Democratic-rich Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties - all of
which saw below-average turnout in Tuesday's primary.
 Democrats stressed that the primaries lacked a tight
top-of-the-ticket contest to excite voters and get them to the
polls.
“The Republicans didn’t have much reason to turn out, and the
Democrats had no hard election," said U.S. Representative Joe
Garcia, a Miami Democrat in a tough re-election battle.
Carlos Curbelo, a Miami-Dade school board member, topped a crowded
field of five Republicans vying to challenge Garcia.
While Scott sailed to victory with more than 87 percent of the
Republican primary vote over two virtually unknown challengers, some
saw weaknesses in his margins, too.
"The most surprising thing was how many Republicans voted against
Scott," said Paula Dockery, a former state lawmaker and moderate
Republican who is now a syndicated columnist.
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'WORK TO DO'
In the state's rural northern counties, traditional white Southern
Democrats curiously handed Crist's liberal opponent, Nan Rich, some
of her largest margins.
Of the 2,100 Democratic votes in the Florida Panhandle's Holmes
County, Rich beat Crist with 47 percent of the vote.
“It was a Dixiecrat vote," said Charles Smith, chairman of the
county's Democratic Party, referring to a one-time segregationist
split among conservatives within the party.
"They vote for whoever they think will do the most damage to the
Democratic Party," he said.
Rich quickly urged supporters to rally to defeat Scott.
"We have work to do," said state senator Dwight Bullard, chair of
the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, acknowledging that turnout numbers
"in the major counties were subpar."
Bullard, who had been a Rich supporter and heads the Florida
legislative black caucus, said: "We have one goal as a party and
that is to unseat Governor Scott."
(Additional reporting by David Adams; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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