Do Hurricanes Give Giuliani an Edge in Florida?

One of the political predictions I’ve heard goes like this: since Florida is frequently hit by hurricanes, competency at emergency preparedness is more of a salient consideration for Floridians, and that gives Rudy Giuliani an edge in the primary. What do readers think?

Assuming emergency preparedness is a salient issue for GOP primary voters, it would be a classic example of priming in campaign effects: the more salient an issue for the public, the more likely the issue becomes the chief criteria by which voters evaluate candidates. To see how this works, read this article at the Washington Post on priming 9/11.