Clinton gets Florida’s vote but not its delegates

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) scored a comfortable win in the Florida Democratic primary Tuesday that mathematically moves her no closer to the nomination but could boost her chances heading into Super Tuesday and lessen whatever damage was done by Sen. Barack Obama’s (Ill.) landslide win in South Carolina.

{mosads}Because the Democratic National Committee (DNC) stripped the state of its delegates for a violation of primary schedule rules, the Obama campaign and others have argued that the contest was only a beauty contest. Adding to their argument is the pledge the candidates signed promising they would not campaign in any state that violated the DNC’s rules until those states had voted.

Clinton flew to Davie, Fla. Tuesday night to claim victory and thank supporters there after her campaign had tried throughout the day Tuesday to make its case to reporters that the Sunshine State’s results do matter in the long run despite its lack of delegates.

Clinton was heavily favored heading into Tuesday, and campaign officials said she was at a disadvantage to Obama because his campaign made a national ad buy that included Florida.

Despite that argument, the campaign was clearly hoping throughout the day Tuesday that a big win in the Sunshine State would stop whatever bleeding the campaign has experienced following the South Carolina loss and Monday’s announcement that Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) was endorsing Obama.

As the state saw record primary turnout Tuesday, Clinton’s argument was likely bolstered as Florida voters showed they have been paying attention to the overwhelming amount of national media coverage that has followed the race thus far.

Clinton’s presence in the state Tuesday night indicated the campaign was hopeful that that same media presence would show her as a big winner to viewers in Super Tuesday states.