Embattled Republican Congressman Dan Webster returned to Tallahassee Tuesday as congressional redistricting threatens to end his lengthy time on the Florida political stage.
Webster has been in Florida politics since 1980 when he was first elected to the state House. A staunch conservative, he served longer in the Legislature than anyone else in Florida history, leading the GOP caucus in the House before becoming the first Republican speaker since Reconstruction after the 1996 elections.
After facing term limits in 1998, Webster moved on to the Senate. While he failed in his efforts to become Senate president, he did serve as Senate majority leader. Turning his eyes to federal office once he faced term limits in the Senate, Webster blew out U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., in 2010, but two years later, in a far better year for Democrats, he almost lost to former Orlando Police Chief Val Demings.
With the Florida Supreme Court ruling that the current congressional districts fail to pass state constitutional muster, Webster could be facing a far different district. He currently represents parts of Orange and Polk counties and most of Lake County. Under the base map the Legislature is using for congressional redistricting, his new district would be far more Democratic, taking in only parts of Orange County and bringing in 150,000 voters--more than 90,000 of them Democrats--currently represented by U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla .
Democrats smell blood in the water. Demings is considering a rematch with Webster while, over the weekend, Florida Sen. Geri Thompson, D-Orlando, opened the door to challenging him.
Webster returned to Tallahassee to speak before the joint meeting of the Senate Committee on Reapportionment and the House Select Committee on Redistricting on Tuesday morning. He went through the numbers, insisting the base map was going too far to help challengers.
The Republican congressman clearly recognized he was fighting for his political life.
“The new plan disfavors incumbents,” Webster told the committee. “An affirmative vote for this plan ... is a specific intent to disfavor me as an incumbent.”
The Republican congressman even insisted the base map “makes the seat uncompetitive for anyone in my party" and was built to “eliminate an incumbent.”
Webster has suffered some political losses over the years, including an underwhelming bid for the U.S. Senate in 2004. Earlier this year, in a last-minute effort, Webster challenged U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to lead the chamber. Boehner defeated Webster and, afterwards, booted him from the powerful House Rules Committee.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
