Presidential candidates court Graham supporters in Florida

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By Ken Thomas
The Associated Press
October 7, 2003

MIAMI — Sen. Bob Graham's departure from the presidential field left a number of Florida activists without a candidate Tuesday, and the field of Democratic hopefuls wasted little time in reaching out to his supporters.

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State Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, said he received phone calls from two different presidential campaigns within three minutes of each other late Monday afternoon as he rested during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. Gelber, who had previously told suitors that he was supporting Graham, said he would still need to assess the field.

"A lot of people may not get involved until the race gets further along," Gelber said.

Mitch Ceasar, chairman of the Broward Democratic Party, said Tuesday he received "several calls from folks interested in increasing their profile in Florida, both financially and grassroots, and they wanted to talk strategy or possible support."

Ceasar said he expected former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Lieberman to benefit the most from Graham's departure in the Democratic strongholds in Fort Lauderdale and its suburbs.

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