TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Locals Getting Caught Up In Political Frenzy

ADVERTISEMENT

By GARY PINNELL

Highlands Today

Published: September 12, 2008

SEBRING - At Republican headquarters, 461 S. Commerce, Justine Devlin is being - her words - drowned in phone calls and requests for signs.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama is opening his own headquarters, next to the Democrats on Sebring Parkway, next to Ruby Tuesday.

"We got a winner," says Devlin, chairwoman of the Highlands County Republican Party.

She's not talking about John McCain. It's Sarah Palin, who Devlin describes as fresh and new.

"She has enlivened the party with her enthusiasm," Devlin said. "What she did was cement the conservative base. There were those folks holding back. They were asking, is the Republican Party really conservative enough?"

"You would not believe it," Devlin said Thursday morning. "There are 20 or 30 people in the headquarters, wanting signs, wanting to work."

They've given out 300 McCain signs.

"And bumper stickers. We ran out a long time ago. We've got a list, several pages, for McCain-Palin signs. They want Palin on them. In neighboring counties, where they don't have McCain committees, they're wanting us to give them signs. They want those huge signs, and they're willing to pay for them."

All this started happening, Devlin said, since the governor of Alaska was introduced Aug. 29 as McCain's running mate. Devlin's been involved in GOP activities for decades, and hasn't seen this much enthusiasm for a candidate since Ronald Reagan.

"In one morning, I got 10 calls in one hour," Devlin said. "I'm down at the headquarters right now, and they are here, wanting to know, can we give you money, can we give you a check? It's just an amazing thing."

Because they don't have enough signs, and expensive items like Sarah Palin T-shirts, Devlin is sending requestors to a Web site, www.campaigngraphics.com.

Two weeks ago, McCain was resentful of Obama's rock star status. Today, Obama is selling campaign signs for $2 each.

"They're using the money to hire two Obama workers," said Pat Hogan, chairman of the county Democratic committee.

At his headquarters, people are also asking for Susan Benton for sheriff, Mary Wilson for clerk of courts, Jeri Canale for county commission, and Tim Mahoney for Congress signs.

"We don't have any Mahoney signs yet," said Hogan, who is also helping Hardee County. "We're awful low on Wilson signs. We ran out of Susan Benton signs twice. Jeri Canale just brought in some more."

He's also getting lots of questions about the election process, Hogan said. "When can we vote? What does early voting mean? One woman came in, and I asked her if she knew about early voting. Oh yes, she said, she knew all about it. She always gets up early on Election Day, gets dressed, and gets out there early and votes."

For the record, early voting begins on Oct. 20, and closes on Nov. 2. Election Day is Nov. 4.

Both parties are scheduling pre-election events. The Campaign to Elect McCain meets at 6 p.m. every Tuesday at Republican headquarters, Devlin said. "We don't have enough chairs for all them. We had to go out and get 10 more."

The Democrats have scheduled a hoedown from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Shrine Club on State Road 17, between Avon Park and Sebring. The local candidates will speak. Tickets are $30.

Gary Pinnell can be reached at gpinnell@highlandstoday.com or 863 386-5828

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT