It’s not a sure thing – a decision made by the GOP leaders in the state of Florida does not deal with death or taxes – but the decision could lead to an infusion of cash for broadcasters. And the decision is:
To make the state’s Republican presidential primary a winner-take-all affair.
That ups the stakes of the March 15 event to an astronomical level that would impress even the workers at Cape Canaveral, who deal with matters astronomical every day.
According to Politico, instead splitting delegates between all of the candidates still standing by then – and the odds are it will still be quite a few – one candidate will take the entire prize – 99 delegates in all.
Politico notes that it’s a new strategy for the local GOP, which in its effort to increase its role in the nomination process has actually gone the opposite way in recent years, losing delegates as punishment for moving its primary date earlier in the year in violation of the national Republican primary schedule.
The idea this time is to make the state a lynchpin in the strategy of all serious candidates by making the prize too big to ignore.
On top of all this is the fact that two of the candidates – Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio – are favorite sons.
RBR+TVBR observation: This all but guarantees that broadcasters in Florida will get a two major slices of the 2016 political advertising pie.
The state is firmly established as a key battleground in the general election, and now it is a mortal lock to be a key battleground in the Republican presidential primary.
Add to that the fact that Rubio’s presidential candidacy will end his Senate career, meaning that both parties are seeking candidates, which means a strong chance for contested primaries and leading to a second hotly contested statewide race in the general election.
For broadcasters, Florida is shaping up to be a great location for 2016.
