Gainesville area gives Kucinich more votes than rest of state
Originally published in the Independent Florida Alligator
Alachua County Democrats favor Kerry
Area gives Kucinich more votes than rest of state
By JARED LEONE
Alligator Staff Writers
Although Sen. John Kerry may have easily cinched the Florida Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, Rep. Dennis Kucinich had a strong showing at many student-heavy voting precincts in Alachua County.
Still, it was not enough to bring him closer to the party’s nomination for president.
Kucinich, who made a campaign stop at the Steven C. O’Connell Center Thursday, bagged nearly 10 percent of the vote in the county while only receiving 2 percent through the state.
The liberal tenets Kucinich spoke about at UF and throughout his campaign were aimed at influencing voters, such as Gainesville resident Tim Martin.
“Once [Howard Dean] dropped out, Kucinich was probably the most liberal,” Martin said.
Kucinich’s liberal lean influenced other voters, as well.
“It influenced me to vote for Kucinich because I believe he is the spiritual spokesman for politics,” said Virginia Seacrist, who donned a “Bush/ Orwell 2004” pin. “I wanted to vote my heart because this man (Kucinich) has the message this country needs to hear.”
While the Reitz Union polling location favored the Massachusetts senator with more than 64 percent of the 28 total votes, Kucinich, from Ohio, collected about 21 percent.
He garnered more than 10 percent of the vote at the Doyle Conner Building, which is the polling location for student-populated apartment complexes such as the Exchange and Kensington North and South.
He also received more than 10 percent of the vote at the Harn Museum
Although Kerry, who won Florida with 77 percent of the vote, had nearly secured the Democratic presidential nomination, one student was not deterred from still voting.
“It doesn’t matter if the election is a lock,” said Tammy O’Hara, a UF sophomore who voted for Kerry. “Things change. I think that even if you think that your vote doesn’t count you should still go out because you never know what could happen.”
However, other voters were not so idealistic.
Suzanne Kiker decided to back Kerry after other Democratic rivals fell by the wayside.
“Since they had all dropped out, I was influenced to vote for Kerry,” she said about the need for the Democratic party to have a unifying leader.
Others took the opportunity to choose less likely candidates.
“For me, it was just to have a say in the process,” said Alex Patton, who is also the chairman of a city advisory board. “I wanted to get my two cents in.”
Patton said voting for Sen. John Edwards was his way of showing support for the North Carolina senator who had already conceded defeat.
Overall, Edwards received 10 percent of the votes cast in Florida and 12 percent in the county.
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