Looking back on it in hindsight, it might have been better for Hasner & West to swap districts. Hasner was running for re-election in West's old district. The district had been radically altered but West as the incumbent would have at least entered the campaign with some name ID among constituents and record in Congress that Hasner lacked. Meanwhile, if Hasner had run in FL-18, he would probably have a stronger conservative base than he had in FL-22, and his rising tea party star persona would do more to motivate conservatives to turn out. As it was, West seems to have lost the district in a squeaker due to massive fraud in Lucie County.
I think Rick Santorum & George Allen might have also made a political comeback if they had swapped states. Santorum's social conservative warrior image would play better in Virginia (where he lives anyway), whereas Allen's laidback folky football guy image would play better in Pennsylvania. He'd just need to ditch the cowboy hat.
As it stands, West & Hasner both lost, as did Allen & Santorum.
West would have lost huge in the new FL-22—way too liberal a district. And as for Hasner running in FL-18, maybe he would have won, but that’s the same as saying that maybe a generic Republican could have won: Hasner has never represented any portion of the FL-18, and would not have any competitive advantage vis-a-vis other Republicans (unlike in the FL-22, where it helped that he was a hometown boy and Jewish to boot).
What I would have liked was for Allen West to run for the Senate against Bill Nelson.
West would have had no chance in the new 22nd. Hasner is Jewish and popular with Jews, only such a Republican would have a chance there.
I think he has a future in important office.
Raese on the otherhand has future whittling on his front porch.