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Politics

Lois Frankel Starts as the Favorite to Win a Fourth Term

February 23, 2018 - 6:00am
Lois Frankel
Lois Frankel

Congresswoman Lois Frankel can breathe a little easier after her top Republican challenger announced this week that he was getting out of the race.

Businessman Kurt Jetta, an avowedly anti-Trump Republican, informed supporters that he was ending his bid to challenge Frankel. Jetta had already dumped $250,000 from his own funds into the race and raised more than $110,000 from his backers.

If they are going to be competitive against Frankel, Republicans could use a candidate like Jetta who could shoulder some of the costs. After beating Republican Adam Hasner to win an open congressional seat back in 2012, Frankel has moved up the ladder fairly quickly and holds a few leadership posts for the Democrats including helping lead the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program.

Frankel also appears fairly entrenched in her seat, even as she and Ted Deutch had to get out of each others’ way in the latest round of congressional redistricting. While 2014 was a good year for the GOP, Frankel easily bested Republican challenger Paul Spain that year, defeating him by 16 percent. Frankel did even better two years later, crushing Spain 63 percent to 35 percent in 2016.

With Jetta out of the race, the only Republican candidate in the field is attorney and businessman Derek Schwartz who has strong roots in the community. Regardless, he will have an uphill fight in this traditionally strong Democratic district.

For her part, Frankel had almost $1 million in the bank at the end of December and, as she turns 70 in May, has a pretty lengthy resume in Florida politics, having won a Florida House seat back in 1986. Moving up the ladder in Tallahassee, Frankel served in the Democratic leadership before rolling the dice on a congressional bid in 1992. She won the first round of the primary but was beaten by Alcee Hastings in the runoff.

After losing to Hastings, Frankel looked to get back to Tallahassee, but her former aide Mimi McAndrews was holding her old seat. Frankel bested McAndrews in an ugly primary battle back in 1994 and went on to serve four more terms in the House, eventually rising to become Democratic leader.

Frankel turned her attention to local politics, serving two terms as mayor of West Palm Beach. She won impressively both times, including besting Mayor Joel Daves in the Democratic primary. Even before redistricting in Tallahassee, Frankel set her sights on running for Congress. In 2012, Frankel beat Kristin Jacobs in the Democratic primary to face Hasner in the general election. Republicans had high hopes for Hasner but Frankel beat him by 9 percent.

While Jetta had a tough task had he stayed in the race, he could have at least self funded.  How Schwartz does with fundraising remains to be seen but Frankel is a heavy favorite at this stage in the campaign to win a fourth term in Congress.

Comments

Derek Schwartz is a very intelligent lawyer. New Blood in Congress would certainly give a new set of bright eyes for “concerned” citizens..I was born and raised in Palm Beach County. I don’t live here now, but visit family often. Mrs. Frankel has “timed out”...I would like to see less “career politicians” and more business & real world taxpayers in office.

You can do better "Boca"; MUCH BETTER,...without even trying too hard ! She is truly a "lawyer without "portfolio" (just like hundreds of others in Florida and Federal governments who are screwing up our Republic by "selling out to "Lobbys" and "Special Interests"...... Not to mention their fear of Mob, "majority rule" demonstrations and 'social media' attacks on their "cushy" & lucrative "lagniappe paying (under the table)" Legislature positions...

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