In the early stages of the 2016 congressional races, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has laid out its initial plans in Florida. Based on early moves, the DCCC is looking to protect two of its House incumbents in Florida -- U.S. Reps. Gwen Graham and Patrick Murphy -- while targeting Republican U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo and David Jolly.
Graham and Murphy were named as Frontline Democrats last week by the DCCC. Twelve other Democratic incumbents in the House also received the same designation.
U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., the chairman of the DCCC, tapped U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., to lead the Frontline efforts.
Each one of these members knows what it takes to win tough elections: working hard, standing up for your district, and not taking anything for granted, Lujan said last week. We are adding them to our Frontline program, led by Rep. Dan Kildee, to maximize their resources and ensure they are able to keep fighting to strengthen middle-class economics. You dont add by subtracting, so the success of our members is integral to our plan to stay on offense in 2016.
While there are more Republicans than Democrats in his district, Murphy is a proven winner, having defeated U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., in a close contest in 2012 before routing former state Rep. Carl Domino in November, despite it being a good year for Republicans in Florida and across the nation.
But Graham, one of only two Democrats across the nation to beat Republican congressional incumbents in November, could be more vulnerable, having beaten the gaffe-prone U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., by less than 3,000 votes in November. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) quickly pounced last week after she was named to the Frontline program.
Even Nancy Pelosi realizes that Gwen Graham is in serious re-election trouble thanks to her gaffes, flip-flops and contradictions during her first six weeks in office, said Chris Pack, a spokesman for the NRCC. We look forward to reminding the people of North Florida that the Gwen Graham in Washington is very different than the person she pretends to be in her district.
The DCCC launched a website last week of its top Republican targets, calling them one-term wonders" and comparing them to musical acts which only had one hit. Curbelo and Jolly were on the list.
The hits will keep on coming on One-Term Wonder Congressman David Jolly now through Election Day, and he wont be able to hide his reckless special interest agenda, said Josh Schwerin, a spokesman for the DCCC. Democrats are on offense this cycle. We will work tirelessly to highlight how out-of-step Congressman Jolly and other One-Term Wonders are with their constituents.
But the DCCC -- which compared Jollys wins in 2014, including his victory over former state CFO Alex Sink, to hip-hop group Tag Teams Whoomp (There It Is) hit from the early 1990s -- was not alone in making pop culture references as it looked ahead to 2016. The NRCC mocked Democrats predictions they will retake the House in 2016 by insisting the Jacksonville Jaguars had better odds of winning next years Super Bowl and disgraced NBC News anchor Brian Williams would be named newscaster of the year.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
