The Obama campaign launched a major Jewish outreach campaign in Florida.
Jewish outreach groups are being established in six cities and a full-time state-wide Jewish vote director has been hired, according to a news release Monday from the Florida office of the Obama for America presidential campaign.
Top Jewish surrogates, including Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) will tour the state along with Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), Obama’s vice presidential pick.
The release also named local rabbis who are backing the candidate, including Rabbi Joel Levine of Palm Beach Gardens, Rabbi Robert Frazin of Hollywood and Rabbi David Englander of Boca Raton.
The announcement comes following an outburst during the Democratic Party convention in Denver two weeks ago; two Jewish legislators in Florida, state Sens. Nan Rich and Steve Geller, contradicted claims by party officials that Obama was doing well among Jews. Rich and Geller said they were encountering tough resistance to the candidate, especially in retirement communities.
