Clinton's supporters argued that Michigan and Florida's citizens should participate in the nomination processes, and that it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to overlook the two huge battleground states that might be crucial in the November general election. They also argued that the Clinton campaign had not had a voice in the decision to strip Florida of its delegates. Critics charged that changing the rules in this way was unfair and that Clinton's position was motivated purely by political expediency. Among their arguments was that neither Clinton nor her campaign had made any public protest when Florida's punishment had first been announced in August 2007; that Clinton was adopting this position only after results from the first primaries had made it apparent that the campaign was not running the way she had expected; that Clinton, along with other candidates, had signed the pledge not to campaign or participate in Florida; and that at the time the pledge was signed, Clinton's then-campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle had proclaimed that   Candidates Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich, and Bill Richardson dropped out of the presidential race before the Florida primary. However, they remained on the ballot. Although Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards had pledged not to campaign in the state, supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton conducted unofficial campaign efforts, and over 350,000 Democratic voters cast early ballots as of January 25, 2008. Mike Gravel was the only candidate to openly campaign in the state. Two days before the January 29 election, Hillary Clinton visited Florida and held three fundraisers. On Election Day, Clinton returned to Florida and held a rally after polls closed to celebrate her victory. While these visits were permitted fundraisers, the timing raised controversy among Obama supporters. In the run-up to Super Tuesday on February 5, the Obama campaign ran a nationwide television advertising campaign that was shown in all states, including Florida. Obama's campaign asked for the ads not to be shown in Florida, but were told by the cable networks this was not possible. The campaign then sought and received permission to run the ad from South Carolina Democratic Chairwoman Carol Fowler as at that point South Carolina had not already voted. Clinton Adviser Harold M. Ickes has claimed that this violated Obama's pledge not to campaign in the state. *As awarded by the May 31, 2008, meeting of the Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC). **Subsequently, some Edwards delegates switched to Obama. Shortly after February 5's Super Tuesday contests, the media and some politicians like U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) began to endorse the idea of a possible revote in Florida and Michigan.