Posted on 03/11/2014 5:46:39 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Republican David Jolly narrowly defeated Democrat Alex Sink in the special election for Florida’s 13th District on Tuesday in an expensive race watched closely by both parties as the midterm election season kicks into high gear.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Jolly beat Sink 48.5 percent to 46.6 percent, according to The Associated Press.
Both Democrats and the GOP plowed millions of dollars into the swing district race in hopes of an election year boost. The results appeared to vindicate the strategy of the GOP, which focused its attacks on linking Sink to Obamacare and managed to win with an untested candidate that many in the national party had grown frustrated with.
Sink was “ultimately brought down because of her unwavering support for Obamacare, and that should be a loud warning for other Democrats running coast to coast,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden said in a statement.
Democrats countered that Sink had done fairy well considering the climate, and noted that another vote for the seat is just a few months away.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
The libertarians got almost 5%, but it wasn’t enough to throw it to the democrats.
I didn’t know much about this until I read up on it yesterday. I would agree—this is a huge win. If Sink had won, she looks like the type who would have held onto it for the next 20 or 30 years—at least until she decided to move up and run for Senator. Now the Republicans have a good chance to hold onto it over the long term. Shovel the famous Democrat candidate out of there!
Not good for OBAMACARE....Sink run on fixing it....GOP had the seat since Nixon....Trending rat because the rats up north are moving into the area...
Jolly and Sink. This all sounds like a bad Bill Clinton re-run.
Obama won the district twice, 52-48 in 2008 and 51-49 against Romney. I also understand that Sink ran as the Dem candidate for governor three years ago and narrowly lost to Rick Scott so she had name recognition - Stuart Rothenberg had called this in February a “must win” for the Dems and a real blow to Obama if she lost. I also heard (and read) that Jolly’s campaign was a mess, but the Reps did a good job in getting absentee ballots in for today’s election.
This would be a huge win. Sink was predicted to win - led in every poll.
the next one is the congressional seat held by Tray Radel.I am hoping for Curt Clawson over that Buttafuccio candiate.
She probably would have won if she hadn’t kept smearing Jolly in her ads with false claims.
“I thought this was a lean dem district.”
The district includes St. Petersburg, which is an artsy retirement city trying to be like Sarasota. Still for a flat out communist like Sink to get 46 percent is scary.
This district has a lot of Hispanics and from what I saw while recently in Tampa , a good many blacks. Both candidates were running many TV ads. Jolly’s were firmly focused on ‘Sink helped give us Obama care. She has to go.’. Sink’s were basically that Ocare is good for ‘the people’ and Jolly was a bad ‘rich man’ who even wants to explore Social Security privatization. Considering the ethnic mix and the conventional wisdom that the 65 plus set in Florida are paranoidically stupid about doing anything ever to change Social Insecurity this really is a pretty big win. It seems to indicate that the 65 plus types are more afraid of Ocare than potential changes to SS sometime off in the future. Also ‘minorities’ normally don't turn out as much in the off year elections. Those two things being said it may auger a real debacle for the Dems this November. People like Miss Piggy in Louisiana are probably finished.
I think ‘the lesson’ from this win is the GOPe wins when they go all out for the candidate that they didn’t want.
Of course, no self-respecting apparatchik at the RNC will ever see it that way LOL!
Yes, the last poll I saw had the Democrat candidate up by 9%.
Florida District 13 was “reassigned” to Pinellas County (St. Petersburg) in 2013, according to Wikipedia.
Previously, according to Wiki, District 13 included a number of more rural counties clustered around Sarasota just to the south.
So, I'm not sure we can make comparisons to previous elections.
Also, the Libertarian candidate got 5% of the vote.
That sounds huge to me, since nationally the Libbers only get around 1%.
That 5% number also sounds like a noisy rejection of the GOP candidate, too, but that's my opinion, no data to back it up.
Pinellas County is 76% white.
In 2012, 61% of white Florida voters voted for Romney.
At first glance, it looks like about 60% of white Pinellas County voters voted for the GOP candidate.
Wow. Exactly what I was going to post.
Been a ton of advertisements here by Sink, very clearly stating, “We need to keep the good things about the ACA”. I’ve read several major news articles on how this election is a bellwether referendum. This is huge.
I would hope Miss Piggy is finished. Had enough of her double talk.
That was before Florida got its own McCainiac, ie. Rubio.
Heard Rep-elect Jolly on Fox about 30 minutes ago, and he noted that Nancy Pug-ugly is downplaying the loss now.
Alleluia!
Lissen, I am calling in drone strikes on Libertarians. Until some Republican Soros-type starts funding far-Left-nut-fringe-Greens or Earthers or whateva, a Third Party on the right is just going to hand our government to Democrats.
Yeah, The Two-Party thing is a scam ... but it's what we got. If we had 4 or 5 parties, 'nother story. But this is America and we don't.
What we haven't figured out .... and need to ... is how to give the GOP a decent burial and who the heirs are to be. Trouble is the RINO scam is one of the most lucrative in the nation's history. Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Orrin Hatch, Bobby Dole ... you are talking PERSONAL mega-mega-millions all stashed while in office ... just like their ultra-wealthy pals across the aisle. The Clintons, the Gores ... BILLIONaires. Ditto Pelosi, Boxer, Feinstein. Reid, being dumber, is only worth a couple hundred million. When a jerk like Biden can amass a fortune in politics, something ain't right.
Betcha non-white turnout in this one was light.
GOP == big govt
Libertarians == small govt by definition
and you want more big govt? are you on crack? or are you not paying enough taxes that you feel you, and everyone else, should pay more?
yea... quality
Maybe he learned something in this fight.
(1.)Fight harder
(2.) Leave the bimbo at home
(3.) Tell the RNC to drop off the money and STFU.
(4.) Screw minority outreach. The SOBs ain't gonna vote for you. Slap the bastards with "Vote Fraud." "Voter ID" "Welfare Cuts." "Stand Your Ground." "Concealed Carry." "Gallows in Public Parks in Urban Neighborhoods." "No illegals." "Deport Welfare Mothers to Alaska," "NO sympathy for Trayvon." ETC.
(5.) Gay Marriage? Un-Natural. Unhealthy. Queer. Bad example for the children.
(6.) Education? Bring back corporal punishment, rigorous trades training for the academically weak, and banishment to work camps in the 'Glades for the disruptive. Make Sheriff Joe Education Czar!
Jolly, pick 3 out of the above and hammer away.
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