As he gears up to seek another term in Congress, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., will face some familiar opponents in the 2014 election cycle.
While Miller may have served as the executive assistant to longtime Florida Agriculture Commissioner Doyle Conner and had a stint in the Florida House, the Panhandle congressman casts a much larger shadow in Washington than he does in his home state. First elected to Congress in 2001 to fill the place of Joe Scarborough who resigned his seat, Miller has steadily risen up the ranks during his time in Congress. Miller chairs the Committee on Veterans Affairs and sits on the Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Miller didnt exactly impress with his fundraising in the first quarter of 2013 when he brought in $9,750 -- $9,000 of that from PACs -- leading to more than $42,400 in the bank at the end of March. But he has one of the safest Republican congressional seats in Florida. He also does very well in the general elections. Only twice -- in 2001 when he ran in the special election and in 2006 which was one of the best years in recent memory for Democrats -- did Miller receive less than 70 percent of the general election vote.
In 2012, Miller cruised again despite President Barack Obama beating Mitt Romney to win Florida and Democrat Bill Nelson routing Republican Connie Mack in the U.S. Senate election. Miller took 70 percent while Democrat Jim Bryan, a businessman and Vietnam veteran, lagged far behind.
Hoping the third time is the charm, Bryan has already filed papers to run again. Unless something drastic happens, dont expect Bryan to improve much on his past showings, taking 29 percent against Miller in 2008 and 27 percent in a rematch in 2012.
John Krause, a pastor and private investigator, is offering a conservative challenge to Miller and hopes to defeat the incumbent in the Republican primary. But Krause has had little success before when he ran against Miller without party affiliation in 2010: he posted only 8 percent of the vote.
Its still early in the 2014 election cycle, to be sure. But right now Miller is an extremely heavy favorite to return to Washington for a seventh full term. Representing a heavily Republican-leaning district and facing familiar opponents, for the moment he is in excellent shape for the 2014 elections.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
