TALLAHASSEE -- Republican political consultant Sally Bradshaw didn't have to think twice about the subject of her presentation to a master's class in campaign management two weeks ago.

Twenty years spent working in campaigns made it clear to her that Barack Obama's campaign had successfully adapted traditionally Republican strategies for winning.

''Obama has stolen a page from a very successful Republican playbook. And we've seen that in Florida,'' she told her class at Florida State University. ``They've figured it out. They've broken the code.''

Bradshaw, who managed Jeb Bush's 1994 and 1998 campaigns for governor, is one of several Republican political consultants who believe that Florida is more competitive now because of Obama campaign.

''It's a different world for Republicans in Florida,'' said David Rancourt, a Republican political consultant and former campaign manager for Jim Smith and Sandra Mortham.

He said Obama's campaign managers not only did what Republicans have done successfully for years -- turn out votes -- they've taken the strategy to the next level ``by using the technological advancement of the Internet to organize and coordinate their efforts.''

''The Democrats have grown their base, registered their base, and they have a candidate who has motivated their base,'' Rancourt said. ``If they all vote, that's like adding a couple of midsize counties to the mix, in a state that's completely even.''

Brett Doster, who ran George W. Bush's 2004 campaign in Florida and Tom Gallagher's 2006 race for governor, said the Obama campaign ``was like a campaign run by an incumbent.''

'They were running on the hope and optimism ticket. We were running on, `that guy is scary,' '' he said.

Obama's decision to keep Florida part of the national fight, using time and money there, forced Republican rival John McCain to do the same, Bradshaw said.

Obama wisely rejected public campaign finance and was able to spend more on travel and voter contact, she said. Because Obama raised so much money from small-dollar donors, ''he's been able to send a strong signal that this is a grassroots movement,'' she said.

Bradshaw said she understood how broad the campaign's reach was in the last month when she received nine calls from the Obama campaign.

She had signed up for Obama's web site -- just as she did for Mike Huckabee and Hillary Clinton -- and believes the Obama campaign did a phone match off the website registration list, ``which is fairly expensive.''

They called the day after she received her absentee ballot, asking if she had any questions, called again the next day and made another seven calls from volunteers asking her to meet them to go door-to-door. She also received calls with recorded messages.

''Republicans have always had a strong turnout operation,'' Bradshaw said. ``But what's different, what's in play, is that the Obama campaign has caught up on voter contact... It's a plan that can be in play for future elections.''

In addition to the grassroots activism, Bradshaw said she was impressed by Obama's disciplined communications staff.

''Everybody has a job and everybody does their job,'' she said.

Rancourt, who received Obama calls too, believes that the campaign ''transcends traditional political boundaries.'' The voter registration push changed the electorate, he said, adding: ``They came into Florida and thought bigger than anybody has in a long, long time.''

How well the Florida Democratic Party uses Obama's $40 million investment in Florida and the grassroots organization remains to be seen. The poor performance of Democratic candidates in several close legislative seats raised some early doubts about the party's ability to elect its candidates.

''Obama's challenge is to keep them motivated,'' Rancourt said.

Bradshaw believes voters were ready for change. But she wonders, ``Does the passion of an Obama victory begin to open doors for them in the state?''

Miami Herald staff writer Beth Reinhard contributed to this report.

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