Excerpt
The victory by Republican David Jolly in Florida’s special election Tuesday gives the GOP bragging rights heading into November’s midterm contests and sends a warning sign to Democrats running this fall.
Jolly, a former lobbyist and aide to the late GOP Rep. C.W. Bill Young, defeated Democrat Alex Sink 49 percent to 47 percent by making opposition to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul the central argument of his campaign.
The seat in Florida’s 13th Congressional District had been held by Young for more than four decades until his death last fall, but voters in the district also backed Mr. Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Sink also carried the district during her 2010 bid for governor against Republican Rick Scott.
For Democrats, the result signals a tough political campaign ahead, with public dissatisfaction toward the president and the Affordable Care Act high. With Sink, the former chief financial officer of Florida, the party had its preferred candidate and strong fund-raising ability, but was still unable to overcome the health care hurdle.
National Republican groups cheered the development Tuesday.
“Tonight, one of Nancy Pelosi’s most prized candidates was ultimately brought down because of her unwavering support for ObamaCare, and that should be a loud warning for other Democrats running coast to coast,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden said in a statement.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Jolly’s victory “shows that voters are looking for representatives who will fight to end the disaster of ObamaCare, to get Washington to spend our money responsibly, and to put power in the hands of families and individuals.”
Democrats did their best to spin the loss.
“Republican special interest groups poured in millions to hold onto a Republican congressional district that they’ve comfortably held for nearly 60 years,” Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. She claimed the GOP “fell short of their normal margin” because of Jolly’s “singular focus” on repealing the health care law.
The simple fact that the candidates and outside groups combined spent more than $12 million on the special election shows just how important winning the contest was to both parties. The win by Jolly gives Republicans a jolt of momentum moving toward the fall, while Democrats must figure out a way to better shield their candidates from attacks over the health care plan.
"Can the GOP turn a Florida win into midterm momentum?" (Part-2) PBS NewsHour 3/12/2014
Excerpt
SUMMARY: In a closely watched special election, Florida’s right-leaning 13th congressional district voted in Republican David Jolly by a narrow margin over the Democratic candidate. Judy Woodruff asks Stuart Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report and Susan MacManus from the University of South Florida about how the results could sway the forecast for upcoming midterm elections in November.
No comments:
Post a Comment