It pains me to write this...

Not only did the Republican Party of Florida start in motion the primary shuffle towards New Years Day (Iowa was Jan 3rd this time around), but it also cost us half our delegates and treatment like the red-headed step child at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and we're hosting the event!

Not to be outdone by our party, more than half of REGISTERED Republicans in the state of Florida decided that choosing a candidate worthy of opposing Barack Obama in the general election in November was not high on their list of things to do. And they had 9 opportunities to vote!

Statewide voter turnout of registered Republicans who voted in the January 31st primary was a pathetic 45.21%.

In Florida's First Congressional District, the most conservative in Florida and one of the most in the United States, we Panhandle Republicans could only muster up 43.71%  turnout. And if you remove Washington County's very high 59.05%, the district barely reaches 40%; 40.64% to be exact.

And to my great shame my county of Santa Rosa, probably the highest ratio of conservatives and evangelical Christians, we were low on the totem pole in the 1st CD at 36.16%.

So as a Floridian Republican, although the Jeffers household did indeed vote and tried to influence many others to do so, let me apologize to the rest of America for letting you down.

Had we showed up in droves, say 75%, the outcome could have been much different. In counties were voter turnout was down from 2008, Mitt Romney won those counties. In counties were turnout was up from 2008, Newt Gingrich won those counties.

One can only wonder...