The political positioning and maneuvering continues in North Florida in one of the tightest congressional races in the nation.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican super-PAC, waded into North Florida on Tuesday, announcing plans to spend $600,000 against Democrat Gwen Graham who is running against U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla.
The new ads try to link Graham to Beltway Democrats like President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. In recent days, Graham has tried to distance herself from her partys leadership, including saying she would not vote for Pelosi to be speaker.
Gwen Graham can try to masquerade as independent but North Florida voters wont be fooled when shes bankrolled by Washington Democrats, said Emily Davis, a spokeswoman for Congressional Leadership Fund, on Tuesday. North Florida families and seniors know that a vote for Gwen Graham is a vote for President Obamas policies that are costing them more.
Southerland also got help on Tuesday from a potential 2016 presidential candidate. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., endorsed Steve Southerland for a third term at a campaign event in Tallahassee.
Not only is Steve Southerland a trusted colleague in Washington, hes my friend, Rubio said. Im proud to support Steve because hes a respected conservative voice in Congress whos fighting hard to create jobs, grow Floridas economy, and shrink federal bureaucracy. North and Northwest Florida families need a principled leader like Steve Southerland in Congress.
Senator Rubios support means a lot to me, said Southerland. Weve fought many battles together on behalf of the state of Florida. This race really comes down to which candidate represents the values of our district -- values Ive lived my entire life. That wont change if I am blessed to return to Congress for another two years.
The Graham campaign looked to fundraise off Rubios appearance in Tallahassee, insisting he was appearing at a massive fundraiser for Steve Southerland and trying to rally Democrats.
We dont know how much money hell raise, but we know every last dollar will fund devastating attacks against Gwen, the Graham campaign emailed supporters on Thursday. Republicans think one of their top celebrities can raise enough cash to give Southerland the lead at the last minute.
Even as Graham tries to paint herself as an outsider to Washington and not tied to the leadership of her party, Washington Democrats continue to support her efforts. On Tuesday, the Graham campaign announced that her father -- former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla. -- and two top congressional Democrats -- U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., and U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga. -- would be at a campaign event for her on Friday. Clyburn is assistant Democratic leader, Pelosis third-in-command. Bishop leads Democrats on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Graham worked on her fathers presidential bid in the 2004 election cycle. After he quickly got out of the race, Graham worked for the presidential campaigns of former Gov. Howard Dean, D-Vt., and then U.S. John Kerry, D-Mass.
Graham also got the help of other Beltway Democrats on Tuesday as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DNCC) released a new TV ad attacking Southerland.
They say money talks, and when it does Congressman Steve Southerland listens, the narrator of the new ad says. Southerlands taken over $200,000 from companies that outsource American jobs. And in Congress, Southerland voted to protect tax breaks for those same companies. Its been a disaster for North Florida. Weve lost more than 100,000 jobs to countries like China because of outsourcing and unfair trade deals. Steve Southerlands looking out for his job, not yours.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
