The special election for Florida’s 13th Congressional District obviously is one to watch — a candidate waits tables, another gets a cameo by “Sha Na Na” (or at least the leading member) and everyone agrees that turnout on March 11 is the key.
Here is the day that was in the special election in CD 13:
Watch that Man — CNN named the CD-13 race as one of the “Eight things to watch in the eight months till Election Day.” Although they admit that it is rare for special contests so early in an election year to be any indication of what will actually happen in November, the winning party will receive seven whole months of bragging rights.
“Since most nonpartisan handicappers and analysts have for years expected this seat to go Democratic when it became open, a Republican victory in March would likely say something about the national political environment and the inclination of district voters to send a message of dissatisfaction about the President. And that possibility should worry the White House,” wrote political handicapper Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report.
After March 11, the crazy train starts again for midterms.
Sticking up for Sink — Alex Sink’s comments about immigration reform last week may have raised the ire of Republicans, but it also brought a Clearwater landscaper out in her defense. Creative Loafing’s Mitch Perry reports that Felix Mendoza, president of Migrants United of Hidalgo and owner of Mendoza Landscaping, “never felt offended” by Sink’s remarks. “With her we’re going to work to make the (Latino) community stronger,” Mendoza continued.
Insert Republican joke here.
Check Please — David Jolly campaigned as a waiter Tuesday morning at the popular Lenny’s restaurant on U.S. 19 in Clearwater, reports Curtis Krueger in the Tampa Bay Times. Jolly was dressed more casually than usual (sans tie and jacket), with “brown 514 jeans and cowboy boots,” going from table to table, thanking people for support.
Is he required to disclose his tips to the FEC?
Sink-Na-Na — The Hill asks if former “Sha Na Na” frontman Jon “Bowzer” Bauman will be Sink’s good luck charm. In the next few days, Bowzer will campaign with Sink. He’ll also appear at senior centers (where else?) and take part in a Sink robocall, going after Jolly for trying to turn Medicare into a voucher program.
Will he be taking requests? Can he do “At the Hop?”
Not So Fast — Peter Schorsch writes that the CD-13 conventional wisdom could be “way off.” Schorsch referred to an excellent crunching of the numbers in Congressional District 13 by the Miami Herald’s Marc Caputo, which is a “must-read for anyone following the race.” Caputo essentially says the race is Sink’s to lose, but for different reasons than Schorsch, who says the battle for CD-13 will come down to Republican turnout on Election Day.
Who are we to argue?
Today’s number: 102,621 — The number of mail-in ballots returned in the CD-13 race as of March 4, according to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections. Republican ballots are 43,112 (42 percent) and 40,128 are Democratic (39 percent), with 19,381 “other” (19 percent). As for early voting: 1,786 total, with 753 Republican (42 percent), 779 Democratic (44 percent) and 254 “other” (14 percent).
