With 200-plus supporters on a grass field next to his church Thursday, former state Sen. Dan Webster said he is running against Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson.
He brought with him two key Republican endorsements who could help overcome such a late entry into a crowded primary field: former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and past presidential hopeful-turned Fox News Channel host Mike Huckabee.
Six months ago, Webster would have been a clear front-runner to take on Orlando's fiery Democrat in Congress. Most GOP candidates now in the primary hunt would have stayed on the sidelines. But he opted not to get in. Webster said his family was not united behind him running then. Now they are.
So he's playing catch-up to three early pace setters: attorney Todd Long, who lost a 2008 primary for the same District 8 seat; Winter Park businessman Bruce O'Donoghue, who has GOP-establishment support that would have been Webster's; and state Rep. Kurt Kelly, R-Ocala.
The endorsements help put him at or near the top of that field, which also includes a number of lesser-known Tea Party candidates.
Why? Bush is still popular with rank-and-file Republicans in Central Florida, and no endorsement in this race arguably matters more than his. Huckabee gives Webster a national TV stage to raise donations quickly.
That's something Grayson is adept at. He sits atop about a $1.5 million campaign war chest.
But Webster's late entry means he's lost top-tier allies who could have helped him, namely former Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings and former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, two Republicans who appear firmly loyal to O'Donoghue.
"Webster has not talked to me," Martinez wrote in an email to the Orlando Sentinel, "but I support Bruce and that is unchanged and I believe he will win this race."
In his opening campaign remarks, Webster hit on basic GOP themes, such as lower taxes and more personal freedoms, but it took him no time to pay respect to the Tea Party movement's activists, who dominate conservative political circles.
"I didn't plan to get into politics," Webster said 15 seconds into his speech," which is why I greatly respect the Tea Party movement."
Webster said he would reverse "runaway spending" in Congress, stop the "bailouts, buyouts and payoffs, all in the name of helping the economy," and "reverse the downward spiral of the United States."
"The Congress is too proud, they're too pious, they're too petty, they're too partisan," Webster said. "And they lack a set of principles."
"Calling a redistribution of wealth plan a healthcare plan does not make it a healthcare plan," Webster said.
"You know what, it's our country, not theirs," Webster said. "So let's take it back."
Webster is going to be a target in the primary on a number of fronts, from his spending record as a state lawmaker to his unwillingness to help roll back a toll hike when he recently led a review of the region's expressway agency. His 28-year stint in Tallahassee already has marked him a "career politician" by opponents.
"Everybody that is not a career politician wants to be, and everybody that is, is," Webster said. "But I think I'm going to show them my record and prove to them I'm not a career politician, but a career statesman."
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