The race for the open congressional seat previously held by the late U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla., has begun in earnest as Beltway Democrats continue to rally behind former state CFO Alex Sink and a prominent Republican prepares to enter the race.
Sink, who was the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who came up short against Gov. Rick Scott in 2010, claimed momentum even as she won recognition from national Democrats on Monday.
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, R-Fla.
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 givingAmericans the chance to elect representatives who will bring people together and focus on improving lives for middle-class families.
While prominent Democrats continue to rally behind Sink, attorney Jessica Ehrlich, who ran against Young in 2012, shows no sign of dropping out. Ehrlich continues to insist she will remain in the Democratic primary field.
In the meantime, David Jolly, currently working as a lobbyist and formerly on Youngs staff, said over the weekend he will announce this week that he will enter the contest as a Republican. Jolly told the media he would run since former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker is staying out of the contest. Youngs widow, who was mentioned as a possible candidate, is behind Jolly.
Ive worked on behalf of the people of Pinellas County for the last 20 years, Jolly said. I believe Im uniquely qualified to step in on day one and do the job.
Jolly is currently president of the Washington, D.C., lobbying firm Three Bridges Advisors. He is expected to make a formal announcement of his candidacy Tuesday or Wednesday.
With Jolly kicking off his campaign, Democrats are already firing away at the new candidate.
Washington lobbyist David Jolly built his career and his livelihood by trying to manipulate the dysfunctional politics of Washington in order to enrich himself at the expense of middle-class families and thats exactly what Floridians hate about Congress, said Joshua Karp, a spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party. If Jolly is the eventual Republican nominee a big if then Floridians will see a clear contrast between a proven problem-solver with a record of getting results and a Washington lobbyist who would do exactly what lobbyists always do in Congress: make things worse.
The filing deadline for the race is Nov. 19 and the primaries will be held on Jan. 14. The general election will be on March 11.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
