Alex Sink Gaining Steam in Battle for Open Congressional Seat

Former state CFO Alex Sink is claiming momentum after jumping into the Democratic primary for the special election for the open congressional seat previously held by the late U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla.

On Wednesday, we launched our campaign for Floridas 13th Congressional District, Sink emailed supporters late on Sunday. We decided to set an ambitious fundraising goal to get started: $50,000 in the first week. But then something amazing happened. Folks from Pinellas County, across Florida, and around the country started to step up in a way we could never have imagined. After raising our goal to $100,000, we broke right through it.

On Monday morning, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) named Sink to its Jumpstart program which includes their 20 strongest candidates challenging for seats currently held by Republicans. The only other Florida Democrat the DCCC included in the Jumpstart tier is Gwen Graham who is challenging U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland.

In the first few days since she launched her campaign, Alex Sink is again demonstrating what the people of Florida know she is results-oriented, and her approach to solving problems would help get Washington focused on the right priorities, like creating good jobs, said U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., the chairman of the DCCC. Independent voters are fleeing the Republican Congress and problem-solving candidates like Alex Sink are giving Americans the chance to elect representatives who will bring people together and focus on improving lives for middle-class families.