Biden has been on the road defending Obama's record.

(CNN) — Sen. Joe Biden on Wednesday defended criticism of running mate Barack Obama’s Senate record while campaigning in the crucial battleground state of Florida.

“Barack has real experience,” the Democratic VP candidate said. “This guy could have written his ticket to go anywhere. Anywhere at all.”

Biden was speaking at a campaign event focused on the economy in Fort Myers, Florida and discuessed Obama’s stance on the war in Iraq, his work on ethics reform in the Senate, and his proposals on solving the energy crisis. Biden also explicitly dismissed Senator John McCain’s experience in the Senate.

“30 years of bad experience ain’t worthwhile experience,” he said. “You’re not going to take your car—you’re not going to take your car back to a mechanic who for 30 years in a row has screwed it up.”

Biden himself has spent 36 years in the Senate. McCain has worked in Congress since 1982, serving in the Senate since 1987.

Biden was specifically responding to comments McCain aide Rick Davis made to The Washington Post earlier this week when he predicted that this election will come down to each candidates' personas.

"This election is not about issues," Davis said to The Post. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."

Biden sharply criticized that statement, citing the country's economic woes.

“Not about issues?” Biden said. “Well, let me tell you, that means to them this election is not about you being able to scrape up the tuition money to send your kid off to college this September. It's not about whether or not you're going to fill up your gas tank.”

Clinton leads in a new poll out of Florida.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (CNN) — It appears that a majority of Florida Democrats want Hillary Clinton to be their party’s presidential nominee.

Fifty-one percent of likely Democratic Florida primary voters support the New York senator in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll out Thursday.

That’s 30 points ahead of her nearest rival in the Sunshine State, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

“Hillary Clinton has a big lead in Florida, but there is evidence that the race may change dramatically in the Sunshine State after Iowa and New Hampshire have their say,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “If the election were held today, Clinton would get support from 51% of Democratic likely voters, to 21% for Obama and 11% for Edwards.”

The Iowa caucuses, which kick off the presidential primary voting, will be held on January 3, five weeks from today. Florida will hold its primary on January 29. The state moved up its primary date to become more of a player in the presidential primary process, but it did so without permission from the national Democratic and Republican parties.

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Giuliani holds the lead in a new poll out of Florida.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA (CNN) — He may be trailing in the early primary states, but in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, it appears Rudy Giuliani is the front runner in the Sunshine State.

If the Florida Republican primary were held today, the former New York City mayor would finish on top with support of 38 percent of likely primary voters, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Tuesday. (Full poll results [PDF])

That's 21 points ahead of his closest rival, Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor received the support of 17 percent of those polled, with Senator John McCain of Arizona and former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee tied at 11 percent.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is at 9 percent in the survey, followed by Rep. Ron Paul of Texas at 5 percent, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California at 1 percent and Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado at less than 1 percent.

The poll, involving telephone interviews with 300 voters likely Florida Republican presidential primary voters, was conducted November 25-26. The poll's margin of sampling error was plus-or-minus 5.5 percentage points.

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– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

The CNN Election Express on location in St. Petersburg.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (CNN)– The CNN Election Express is in Florida. That’s where the Republican presidential candidates will face off this Wednesday in a CNN YouTube debate.

While Florida’s long played an important role in general election in the race for the White House (remember the Florida recount in 2000), this time around it’s also playing a larger role in the primary process. That’s because the Sunshine State moved up the date of its primary to late January.

Right now Senator Hillary Clinton of New York is the front runner in polls in Florida in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. In surveys of Republican voters in Florida, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s on top.

The CNN Election Express just made a cross country trip. Dale Fountain drove the bus to Florida from Las Vegas, where CNN hosted a Democratic presidential debate on November 15th.

Click here to see CNN's new political portal: CNNPolitics.com

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

Gravel was the only candidate to address Florida Democrats Saturday

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Three thousand Democrats came here Saturday and rallied around their top politicians and party leaders, but the biggest impression was made by who wasn't there: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards and other presidential candidates.

The candidates skipped the convention to honor a pledge not to campaign in Florida because the state violated party rules by setting its primary date before Feb. 5.

Well, not all of them.

"Mike Gravel for president!" shouted state Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller, announcing his support for the former Alaska senator and the only candidate who agreed to come. Geller had previously endorsed Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, but withdrew it because of the Florida boycott.

The convention comes in the middle of a months-long feud over Florida's Jan. 29 primary. The GOP-dominated Legislature and Republican Gov. Charlie Crist put the date into law last spring. After considering holding caucuses after Feb. 5 to meet national party rules, the state party decided to stick with the early primary so as many people as possible can participate.

The Democratic National Committee responded by voting to strip Florida of all its delegates. Candidates were pushed by party leaders in the DNC-approved early voting states — Iowa, New
Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — to sign a pledge not to campaign in Florida unless the state complied with DNC rules.

Florida Democrats were given 30 days to change their minds. They refused.

On Saturday morning, Florida Democratic Party Chairman Karen Thurman took the stage to raucous applause as she sang along with rock star Tom Petty: "I will stand my ground, and I won't back down."

Sen. Bill Nelson devoted much of his address to the primary quarrel. He and Rep. Alcee Hastings are suing the DNC over the issue.

"Our lawsuit is about the right of every American to have access to the ballot box, and to have that vote count — and to have it count as intended," Nelson said.

He also stirred loud boos when he mentioned the candidates' boycott. Still, many of the attendees waved signs for candidates.
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