After failing to run a candidate against U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., in last years general election, Democrats found a new contender this week to run in one of the most competitive congressional districts in Florida -- and both the new candidate and Republicans are pointing to his ties to President Barack Obama.
Eric Lynn, who worked in the Obama administration as an adviser on international and defense issues, threw his name in the hat this week against Jolly. Talking to the Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday, Lynn hit Republicans on economic issues and defended the Obama administrations policies.
"I'm running for Congress to fight for good-paying jobs and the pathways to bring them about -- currently blocked by politics and politics alone," Lynn told the Tampa Bay Times.
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"I watched and listened to the 2014 congressional races and Republicans like David Jolly ran on the message of improving the economy and jobs," Lynn added. "But unfortunately once they won and began to govern, the first three things that they wanted to vote on was restricting a woman's right to choose, trying to defund the Department of Homeland Security, which protects U.S. citizens and Floridians against terrorism, and trying to repeal Obamacare for the 60th time. That's not working for the economy and jobs for the people of Pinellas County."
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) welcomed the new candidate in the race and were more than happy to talk about his ties to Obama.
While most Floridians are excited to see the disastrous tenure of the Obama administration coming to an end, Eric Lynn is actually looking to keep it alive, Chris Pack, a spokesman for the NRCC, told Sunshine State News on Wednesday. We look forward to watching Eric Lynn as he scrambles to defend the failed policies of his old employer that have been a disaster for middle class Florida families and seniors.
Despite this being a competitive district, Democrats had problems here last year. Jolly scored a narrow win in a special election early last year over former state CFO Alex Sink. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) tried to recruit Sink to run again in the general election, but she said no. Other candidates received some attention from the DCCC but the party was left with no candidate.
The DCCC eventually backed retired Army Col. Ed Jany, although he ran with no party affiliation. Jany had been a registered Republican but moved to the Democrats. But he didnt switch fast enough because Florida requires candidates to be members of their party for a year before qualifying. Jany quickly dropped out after questions surfaced about inconsistencies in his background, including lying about having a college degree, leaving the DCCC without a candidate in a competitive district.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
