Freshman Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) has drawn national attention from his provocative comments geared to his left-wing base and made himself a target for Republicans in November.
But for now the GOP is focusing on sorting out the crowded field of candidates in the competitive Orlando-area district – a field that was upended when Daniel Webster entered the race several days before the state’s April 30 filing deadline. Webster, a widely-respected conservative leader who has been both state House speaker and state Senate majority leader, was once viewed as a field-clearer when he mulled the race last year but his indecision has created a logjam of credible candidates
Among them are businessman Bruce O’Donoghue, who raised more than $300,000 in the first quarter of 2010, and state Rep. Kurt Kelly, along with four other lesser-known Republicans.
Kelly says he's committed to staying in the race until the Aug. 24 primary, despite the risk of being overshadowed by Webster as the two compete for conservative votes – and raised some fresh questions about Webster’s electability against Grayson in an interview Tuesday with POLITICO.
“He’s never run a primary, he’s banking on a name and today being a 28-year incumbent is not necessarily strong. There’s a movement against that…He’s the Hall of Fame pitcher from years past and I’m the new phenom throwing the 103-mile-per-hour fastball,” Kelly said. “Grayson has got a tremendous amount of money, he’s got a loyal base of support so I think we have to put up the right person to win this race. It is not a walk, that’s a recipe for disaster. If people are saying anyone can beat Grayson, that is just not true.”
Webster has touted endorsements from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, and O’Donoghue counts on the support from former Sen. Mel Martinez and former Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings.
But Kelly believes support from local legislators within the district – including several who mulled over the race, like state Reps. Eric Eisnaugle and Steve Precourt – is more significant. He also met with the Club for Growth Tuesday which endorses fiscally-conservative candidates.
“If the endorsement game were the key to victory, then I’d win because I have key legislators and local folks in the district that are endorsing me now. That’s on the ground people in politics today, and I think that’s more powerful than a name or someone in a different city, a different area, or a different time,” Kelly said.
Kelly argued that his base in Marion County, rather than Orange County, where Orlando is located, will play to his advantage in a primary, with Webster and O’Donoghue poised to split the Orange County vote.
He downplayed his early money disadvantage against O’Donoghue, questioning whether he could keep up his pace now that Webster is in the race. And he argued that money shouldn’t be the defining measure of a candidate in this race, since whoever emerges as the nominee should be well-stocked with cash, given the interest of national Republicans in donating money to Grayson’s eventual opponent.
“I’m not intimidated by this guy, we’re going to go after him. He’s got this plethora of vulgarity and trash that the citizens already know about. All I need to do is remind them, and we will,” Kelly said.
No comments:
Post a Comment