It's one and done for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, who was trounced in his first re-election bid by Republican Daniel Webster in Central Florida's 8th Congressional District.
Sunshine State News called the race at 8:22 p.m. EST, after 188,000 votes were cast and Webster -- then at 59 percent -- led Grayson by 36,000.
Despite a much bigger campaign war chest, Grayson, D-Orlando, was upended by Webster amid a wave of congressional pickups by Republicans across Florida and the country. Grayson, branded "the worst politician in America" by conservative columnist George Will last month, went down swinging, with a series of controversial TV ads aimed at Webster.
Two of the ads depicted Webster, a religious conservative, as "Taliban Dan" and labeled him a "draft dodger." But instead of marshaling support, the spots appeared to alienate voters, particularly independents who swung heavily toward Webster.
A Sunshine State News Poll showed Webster leading 48-41 back on Oct. 25.
Hyper-partisan and supremely confident, Grayson even sent funds from his war chest to fellow Democrat Ron Klein, who was facing a stiff challenge from Republican Allen West.
But in the end, neither the presence of TEA Party candidate Peg Dunmire on the ballot nor Grayson's multimillion-dollar bankroll could turn away the GOP tidal wave that engulfed him.
Webster said, "This is a new day for our country and I am thankful to be a part of it. Thisis a huge victory for people who are tired of the politics of personal destruction. We ran a positive campaign against a broken system. Now it's time to begin the work of fixing it."
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
