Eric Lynn is running a good campaign for the Pinellas Congressional seat currently held by David Jolly. Lynn was smart and jumped in the race as soon as it became apparent the Pinellas district would no longer be a safe seat for Republicans once districts were redrawn to meet standards under Florida’s Fair Districting Act.
The jump-start has allowed Lynn to build up his name recognition throughout the district, boost his standing with moderate Democrats instead of just those who love an underdog and get an early lead on fundraising.
Enter Charlie Crist – the political machine capable of wiping out Lynn’s half million dollar fundraising lead in one fail swoop.
Crist running for Congress is absolutely awful for Lynn for a number of reasons. First, beating the establishment candidate is always a tough feat. Just ask Jessica Ehrlich, who tried and tried again to win the seat before being squeezed out by her own party.
But then there’s Dan Ruth penning a column about the race for a newly drawn Congressional District 13 that doesn’t mention, even once, there are two Democrats in the race.
Of the possibility that former St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker is flirting with a run on the Republican ticket, Ruth wrote that Baker is “suggesting he might be interested in running against former Gov. Charlie Crist for the 13th Congressional District in Pinellas County.”
That one line, which is repeated in similar form later on in his column, says so much. First, it tells the reader Ruth has already made the assumption that Crist will win the Democratic Primary against Lynn. He doesn’t even pretend to think otherwise.
Second, and what’s worse for Lynn, is that the absence of Lynn’s name in the entire column is likely indicative of the mainstream media coverage that is to come.
It’s going to be the Charlie show. And then when (because if is not really an option here) Baker jumps into the race, it’s going to be the Charlie and Rick show. Lynn stands to fade into the background as a has-been box office smash replaced by a new Star Wars flick.
Now, none of this is to say that Lynn can’t pull it off. When Crist ran unsuccessfully for a second term in the Governor’s mansion a lot of Democrats speculated that he lost simply because he didn’t get Democrats excited about voting.
His political wishy-washyness leaves a bad taste in a lot of liberal mouths. That’s something Lynn is already working with.
But the bottom line is those people who now need a good mouth rinsing to cleanse the political opportunism that crept onto their taste buds are far outnumbered by the people who see the tan man as a beacon of light and hope and, most importantly, electability.
Oh, and consider this – Kathy Castor, the member of Congress currently representing South St. Pete and parts of downtown that are gobbled up into the newly drawn District, has endorsed Crist. And Castor is considered a pretty progressive gal.
For the sake of Democracy, I hope Lynn keeps up, but with the “scribblers,” as Ruth put it in his column, over at the Times already ignoring Lynn’s campaign, it’s pretty clear he’s got an uphill battle.
