Overview

A Political Hurricane Predicted for 2012 — Are You Prepared?

Floridians are very familiar with hurricanes, although we have been blessed to have been spared from their wrath and devastation for the last five years. Yet, we are always watching and listening when one is developing in the Gulf or out in the Atlantic. We want to know what, when and where to expect the storm to hit. In other words, we want to be prepared – stock up on bottled water, food and batteries and board up the windows.

In the political arena, we have a “political hurricane” every 10 years. It never changes its name. It is known as Hurricane Redistricting. Quite a storm, this Hurricane Redistricting. It is a good thing it occurs only once every 10 years.

How do we prepare for this storm? Although we will not know where the new district lines fall for several months, we do know who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to their current seat. So, we begin there – looking for pro-jobs candidates.

At the Florida Chamber, our political efforts are about preparation – not only for the 2012 election, but also for the 2014 and 2016 elections. Most likely, we will not know the boundaries of the new district lines until just a few days before the official candidate qualifying time begins in June. That’s when forecasters tell us where the storm will hit and when. But, waiting until that time to prepare is like waiting until the hurricane is 25 miles away traveling 10 miles per hour with 125 miles per hour winds. It’s too late to prepare or to leave. You just have to sit it out – and wait.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce doesn’t have a “wait-and-see” attitude concerning Florida politics. We have already begun the process for battening down the hatches and stock piling resources and tools as we await the storm. We continually track attitudes and trends in Florida with statewide and district polling. We are constantly recruiting, researching and vetting potential candidates for office. Elections are not an every other year process to us. Rather, they are a 365/52 state of affairs.

There will be a few hurricane updates along the way:

January 31, 2012
Presidential Preference Primary

June 4 – 8, 2012
Qualifying for Federal, Statewide, Multi-county, County, District and Political Party Executive Committee Candidates

August 14, 2012
Primary Election
(Might change during 2012 legislative session) 

November 6, 2012
General Election

Here are the races Florida voters will see on the November 2012 Ballot:

• U.S. President
• One U.S. Senate Seat (Nelson – D)
• All 27 Congressional Seats
• All 40 State Senate Seats
• All 120 State House Seats
• Local Elections
• At Least Seven Constitutional Amendments

If you would like to stay informed and become part of the Florida Chamber’s political action team, please join us!  Contact Marian Johnson, senior vice president of political strategy, at 850.521.1241 or mjohnson@FlChamber.com.