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It’s the economy, Florida

John Dimsdale Jan 30, 2008
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It’s the economy, Florida

John Dimsdale Jan 30, 2008
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TEXT OF STORY

Doug Krizner: The Florida primary is now history. John McCain is the Republican front-runner. Exit polls show voters were most influenced by signs of a faltering economy. Marketplace’s John Dimsdale has more.


John Dimsdale: Nearly half the voters here rated the economy as the most important issue. Terrorism came in a distant second, cited by less than 20 percent. Nine of every 10 Democrats said the economy was in trouble — 63 percent of Republicans agreed.

These voters were in Hollywood, Fla.:

Female Voter: The economy’s important to everyone. We all live in the same world. We all eat the same food. We all pay insurance. A lot more in Florida, of course. But I think we stand a much better chance with Hillary than we do with a Republican who has put us in this dilemma.

Male Voter: I want to vote Democratic, but I don’t like their candidates, so I may go to John McCain.

Female Voter 2: There’s a recession coming, and somebody’s got to do something about it.

Male Voter 2: I voted for Hucklebee. I like what he’s talking about, building the infrastructure.

Dimsdale: Who did you vote for?

Female Voter 3 Barack. He may be the best hope for our country — I think we need something different. If our country goes down the tube financially, nothing else is going to make any difference, right?

Florida’s electorate is much older than other states. Nearly half of both Republicans and Democrats are over 60.

In Ft. Lauderdale, I’m John Dimsdale for Marketplace.

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