Karen Thurman announced Friday that she is stepping down as chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, following the route of her Partys candidates at the polls last week.
Thurmans resignation was expected as a buzz grew that a number of Democratic leaders -- including former state Sen. Rod Smith, the losing Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, and outgoing House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands of Weston -- were interested in taking over the post if she stepped down.
In a letter sent out on Friday to Party leaders and activists, Thurman stressed some of the highlights of her tenure in charge.
Working together, we have upgraded our technology, modernized our strategies, cultivated a new generation of Democratic leaders, and raised more funds than at any point in our Party's history, wrote Thurman. We have worked to register new Democratic voters, leading to record gains in our Party's membership. Our investments in building and sustaining our voter file have allowed us to accurately target and actively engage voters across the Sunshine State.
Thurman, who had served in Congress before losing her seat to Ginny Brown-Waite in 2002 and taking over the Party from former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox back in 2005, did see some successes during her tenure -- namely U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson withstanding the challenge of Republican candidate Katherine Harris back in 2006, and Barack Obama beating John McCain in Florida back in 2008.
But Thurman also presided over the Democrats in last weeks election. While Democratic nominee Alex Sink came close to defeating Rick Scott in the gubernatorial race, the Republican prevailed. The three Democratic candidates lost to their Republican opponents in the race for the Cabinet seats. Four Democratic congressional incumbents fell to Republican challengers while Democratic candidates fell flat in their efforts to pick up two open seats that had been held by Republicans. In the Legislature, Republicans had veto-proof majorities in both the Senate and the House -- controlling 28 of the 40 seats in the Senate and 81 of the 120 seats in the House. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the Democratic candidate in the U.S. Senate election, placed a distant third, trailing behind Republican victor Marco Rubio and Gov. Charlie Crist, who ran with no party affiliation.
While Thurman and the Democrats tried to make some political hay over recent scandals at the Republican Party of Florida, even referring to their efforts in 2010 as the Campaign for Accountability, they were not able to gain traction.
Thurman returned to that theme on Friday in her resignation.
Recently, while we have watched the Republican Party of Florida face arrests and indictments for their Party's activities, we have shown the Sunshine State that Florida Democrats are the Party of honest and ethical leadership, she wrote.
Nelson praised Thurman on Friday.
"Over the past six years, as chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Karen Thurman worked to ensure our state would have a vibrant political system in which all voters could have a choice," said Nelson who is up for another term in 2012. "I'd like to commend her for this effort, and also for her previous public service in Congress. She has always put Floridians first.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859.
.
