Democrats are not celebrating in Florida. President-Elect Barack H. Obama had "short coattails" on November 4.

The swing voters along the crucial Insterstate-4 corridor are still very winnable by either party, and the Democrats still suffer from a lack of depth. "Florida is obviously in play, but the candidates have to be credible," said state Sen.-elect Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, considered a possible challenger to U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez or Gov. Charlie Crist in 2010. (...) Enough new voters registered this year to give Democrats a 700,000 voter lead over Republicans. But in past elections, the party couldn't get its voters to the polls. What changed? Principally, Barack Obama. He brought money, a massive voter-registration and targeting program -- and a focused, economy-centered message. (...) Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state's Hispanic vote, according to exit polling. Osceola County went hard for the Democrat, flipping from George W. Bush four years earlier.

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