Tampa Bay Times: A week to go before Fl primary, Sanders shows up to campaign [View all]

[Rose Siding]

Less than a week before the primary in the country's third largest state, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has a skeleton crew in Florida: four paid staffers and three campaign offices.Compare that with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's dozens of staffers and eight offices.

Even with three campaign events this week and a Wednesday night debate in Miami — his first trip to Florida as a presidential candidate — there have been few signs of the Vermont senator on the state's campaign trail.

Political analysts say that's no accident.

"To say it's a pipe dream would imply he actually thinks he has a shot," said University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewett. "I suspect he realizes he doesn't have a shot in Florida, but to be taken seriously as a candidate, you have to basically compete in the biggest battleground state."

As of Tuesday, Sanders was 25.6 points behind Clinton in Florida, with just 32.2 percent of Democrats' support, according to a RealClearPolitics.com average of state polling data.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/with-a-week-to-go-before-florida-primary-sanders-shows-up-to-campaign/2268485