It's probably a safe bet Nancy Pelosi won't be out campaigning this fall in Wewahitchka or Sopchoppy.
But if Republicans have their way, voters in those tiny burgs and countless other dots on the map will think Pelosi has brought her liberal ways and set up shop in North Florida.
With GOP Congressman Steve Southerland in a tight race for re-election, his supporters are doing everything they can to tie Democratic candidate Gwen Graham to Pelosi, the U.S. House minority leader from San Francisco.
"The facts are clear: Gwen Graham is a Nancy Pelosi Democrat,'' blared a Republican Party of Florida mail piece this week.
The mailer shows a picture of a smiling Graham and a scowling Pelosi, who is pointing her finger as if to give instructions.
Vilifying Pelosi, of course, is nothing new for Republicans. But they hope the message can be potent in Congressional District 2, which is spread across 14 largely rural counties. The prospect of Pelosi might not resonate so much in Democratic strongholds such as Tallahassee, but it could perk up ears in more conservative parts of the district.
Southerland is from heavily Republican Panama City and is counting on rural conservatives -- Republican, Democrat and independent -- to turn out in November.
But Graham, who lives in Tallahassee, has spent months trying to build her credibility with down-home voters. Her campaign, in part, uses the theme of the "North Florida way" to drive home the point that she will look out for the district if she is sent to Washington. Similarly, her campaign website touts her as "an independent voice standing up for North Florida."
Graham also has a big weapon as she tries to connect with voters -- her father, former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, who has frequently campaigned with her across the district.
"The North Florida way is about people, caring about people and being willing to put aside differences to do the right thing and to compromise and find common ground,'' Gwen Graham says in a campaign video that shows her driving past roadside stands and doing a "work day," similar to her father's signature events.
DEMOCRATS LOOK TO HISPANICS FOR HELP:
Florida is one of six states national Democrats are targeting in get-out-the-vote efforts aimed at reaching Hispanic voters, who played a key role in President Obama's Sunshine State victory two years ago.
"No pierda la oportunidad de votar," or "Don't miss the opportunity to vote," radio ads will run on Spanish-language stations throughout the country and "key" stations in Colorado, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada, according to a press release issued Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.
The DNC is spending seven figures on the ad buy, according to the release.
The ads come a little more than a week before the Oct. 6 deadline to register to vote in the November election in Florida. And the ads will start running here on the heels of a new poll showing that the race between incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Charlie Crist -- who've both selected Hispanics as their running-mates -- is a virtual dead heat.
Hispanics are among what pols call "low-propensity voters" who tend to cast ballots in presidential elections but don't show up in midterms like the one looming in six weeks.
"Republicans think were going to stay home," the ad begins.
The ads don't mention Crist or any other candidates by name but instead accuse Republicans of cutting education spending, favoring a plan to do away with Medicare and of voting "to protect their millionaire friends instead of raising the minimum wage to help you and your family."
According to the state Division of Elections website, Hispanics make up about 14.4 percent of the 11.8 million registered voters in Florida. About 653,000 Florida Hispanics are registered as Democrats and about 467,000 are Republicans.
The Crist campaign launched its first Spanish-language TV ad a week ago. Scott's campaign pulled a Spanish-language ad last month after the Broward Bulldog reported that a governor-hugging man touting Scott's job-creation record, Cuban-born bodega owner Maikel Duarte-Torres, was convicted of human trafficking in St. Maarten.
TWEET OF THE WEEK: "Now FSU's #1 fan!" -- Sen. Jack Latvala (@JackLatvala), after Sen. John Thrasher was named president of Florida State University. Thrasher has been a key supporter of Sen. Joe Negron, who is competing with Latvala to become Senate president in 2016.
