Rivera, Garcia forage for votes

More than 100 miles from their homes, Republican David Rivera and Democrat Joe Garcia waded for votes over the weekend in what seems like an unlikely locale for a Miami congressional election: the annual, ``world famous'' swamp buggy races in Naples.

It seemed the appropriate setting for what has been an ugly battle for Florida's 25th Congressional District -- a race largely played out in television attack ads.

But Garcia, a former Obama administration official, and Rivera, a four-term state representative, spent the final days of early voting appealing in person to their political bases -- groups that will be crucial in determining who replaces Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart in Washington.

For Rivera, that meant two days rallying conservatives in Naples, who make up about 10 percent of the voters in the GOP-leaning district that stretches from West Miami-Dade into Collier County.

``2day is the big day,'' Rivera told a Miami Herald reporter in a text message Sunday. ``Swamp buggy queen gets thrown in the swamp.''

For Garcia, the trek to Naples on Saturday was an effort to reach out to independent voters, who make up a sizable chunk of the district. He spent Sunday looking for votes among two key Democratic constituencies: African Americans and non-Cuban Hispanics.

``Did I get lucky and get your vote?'' Garcia asked outside the West Kendall Regional Library.

POSSIBLE PICKUP?

Trying to capitalize on one of their few pickup opportunities in a year when they are widely expected to lose control of the House, Democrats poured money into backing Garcia and attacking Rivera.

``Though most people aren't talking about it, it's one of the few Democratic opportunities,'' said Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the Washington-based Rothenberg Political Report, who called the race ``extremely competitive.''

Yet, despite a slew of TV and radio ads accusing him of ``a pattern of lies and cover-ups,'' Rivera can keep the district in GOP hands if independents -- who make up about one-third of the district's likely voters -- break for Republicans in a year of widespread public anger toward Washington politicians.

Few polls have been carried out in the district. One by Sunshine State News, a conservative-leaning publication, had Rivera 1 percentage point ahead of Garcia -- a statistical tie -- with 5 percent of voters undecided. Rivera, however, had a wider, 7-point lead among ``the most likely voters.''

A New York Times analysis of the contest based on polls, expert forecasts, fundraising, past election returns and other indicators gave the edge Sunday to Rivera by about 5 percentage points.

Rivera raised about $1.7 million for his campaign; Garcia about $1.4 million through Oct. 13. Garcia had more cash on hand for the home stretch -- though both candidates have received additional donations in the past few days.

The close race might be decided by turnout: If GOP voters come out as enthusiastically as they did in the August primary, when almost twice as many Republican voters than Democrats cast ballots in the district, the results would almost certainly swing in Rivera's favor.

To counter some of that fervor, Garcia, with deep-pocketed help from national Democrats, has launched character attacks against his opponent. News reports have questioned Rivera's income outside of lawmaking and an accident he was involved in on the Palmetto Expressway during his first campaign eight years ago.

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