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Highlands Today

Will We Be An Election Stop For Presidential Hopefuls?

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By None Selected

Published: September 30, 2007

It's too early to say whether the visit last week from presidential candidate Mitt Romney's son is the first of many stops through this part of Florida, but we hope so. Being a part of the race for the White House would be fun to participate in and something to remember.

There's no denying that Florida is a crucial state for candidates for president. In fact, our state can make or break them. But rural areas such as Highlands County are off the beaten path for many of these wannabes, so it's difficult to know if we'll see much more.

To Romney's credit, the Republican's campaign efforts at least showed some respect for voters around here, even if the candidate himself didn't make an appearance. Perhaps he will later. But will Fred Thompson, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama or any of the others venture through Highlands County? It's way too early to say.

Of course, when candidates do come to Florida, it will mainly be in the metro areas where they will spend their time. That's where the money and the votes are, after all. But we have something else big happening here that might change things a bit.

Our U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney is running for re-election, and Republicans have promised a tough race. They want that congressional seat back and believe with the right candidate, they can take it after Mahoney's first term. Big money from both sides will pour into the campaign, and with that will likely be some powerful political forces with drawing power to extol the virtues of the candidates in their parties. It will be exciting to watch this race play out.

Highlands County might not be the nerve center of national politics in the coming election year, but there's a good chance we'll get to see some excitement. That would be fun for a change.

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