President Obama to visit Miami, Orlando tomorrow

The Miami Herald reports: President Barack Obama will visit Miami tomorrow, marking the president's 14th visit since his inauguration and the second this year.

Obama will hold an official event at the University of Miami, where he’ll discuss plans to shore up the economy. But while in town, he’ll rake cash at the Biltmore Hotel and the home of Democratic fundraiser Chris Korge, where a photo with the president will cost $15,000.

The President will also visit Orlando later in the day for a $30,000 per-person fundraising dinner at the home of NBA star Vince Carter.

As Obama’s re-election effort accelerates, the frequent travel to Florida and other key states highlights a major advantage of incumbency.

With 29 electoral votes, Florida is the biggest prize among the 10 most closely watched battleground states. The Obama campaign has several paths to 270 electoral votes without Florida, but Republicans haven’t won the presidency without Florida in nearly 90 years.

“It would be naïve to think there wasn’t a political or campaign purpose to most of his travel,” said Gary Jacobson, a political science professor at the University of California San Diego who has studied presidential travel. “It’s part of the permanent campaign presidents are engaged in these days.”

Ohio has been Obama’s top swing state target with 17 visits, followed by Pennsylvania with 15 then Florida, according to statistics maintained by CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

--> As always, this article was heavily edited by the Jerry Curl editor.