Dr. Susan MacManus: Presidential race in Florida about … age?

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Dr. Susan MacManus, a professor at the University of South Florida and one of the state’s most high-profile political scientists, believes the race could turn less on ethnicity or geography and more on age.

“It really looks like it’s going to be a generational thing,” MacManus said in an interview with the Washington Post. “The 50 and over vote is leaning Romney, and the 50 and under vote is leaning Obama.”

On Tuesday, she said she will be looking toward a key group of voters who could sway the outcome this time around.

“What I’m watching this election are the suburban counties with a lot of financially pressed 30- to 49-year-olds,” MacManus said. Last time around, many of those voters went with Obama. In 2010, many of them helped Republicans sweep the midterm elections.

“The real story here,” MacManus said, “is who flipped from 2008.”

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.