Governor says Florida could hold re-vote

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 7 (UPI) -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said Friday he supports a re-vote plan that the Democratic National Committee would pay for but state officials would oversee.

The Miami Herald reported that Republican governor said the state could hold a mail-in election to give Democrats a chance to choose between Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., to be the party's presidential nominee.

''If the Democratic National Committee would be willing to pay for it, the appropriate thing to do would be for the state to oversee it to ensure the integrity of the process as we go forward,'' Crist was quoted as saying.

The DNC stripped Florida of its Democratic delegates for holding its Jan. 29 primary too early, in violation of party rules.

A re-vote could cost as much as $5 million, and neither DNC Chairman Howard Dean nor Republican officials in the Sunshine State are too keen on the idea of holding a new election.

"We already had an election," said Republican House Speaker Marco Rubio. "A record number of Democrats voted. Why can't they just count those votes, respect those votes and move on? I don't understand why Howard Dean is so obsessed with punishing Florida's Democrats.''