Posted on 07/13/2015 9:09:54 AM PDT by GIdget2004
Rep. David Jolly of St. Petersburg is poised to announce his plans to run for U.S. Senate next week, following a Florida Supreme Court ruling that could add a substantial swath of Democratic voters to his congressional district.
“Congressman Jolly is seriously considering a U.S. Senate run, and is moving towards a decision and announcement early next week,” Jolly spokeswoman Sarah Bascom said.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled last week that eight congressional districts will need to be redrawn, including Jolly’s. The justices said that the Tampa-based seat of Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor can no longer jump across Tampa Bay to include southern parts of St. Petersburg, which includes a sizable concentration of Democratic-leaning black voters.
Voter registration numbers from 2014 show roughly 63 percent of the more than 67,000 voters in that portion of south St. Petersburg were Democrats and only 13 percent were registered as Republicans. In Jolly’s current district, Republicans account for almost 37 percent of the nearly 467,000 voters.
The change means Jolly’s district, which he narrowly won in 2014, could be difficult for Republicans to hold.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
I don’t know him. Brief thoughts on the man?
Does he have a chance?
Packaged as a conservative with a Washington lobbyist background and staffer of former GOP congressman who brought pork into the district.
Was not the Tea Party or Chamber of Commerce candidate in a three way primary race for the congressional seat.
Jolly’s a big RINO. He’s pro same-sex marriage. Just another Charlie Crist in the making.
Kathy Castor can no longer jump across Tampa Bay to include southern parts of St. Petersburg, which includes a sizable concentration of Democratic-leaning black voters... The change means Jolly's district, which he narrowly won in 2014, could be difficult for Republicans to hold.Castor opponents seem to be coming out of the woodwork as a consequence of this ruling. Meanwhile,"Rep. David Jolly, Pinellas County's 13th Congressional District (through spokeswoman Sarah Bascom): Congressman Jolly has always considered District 13 to be a Pinellas County seat and has never concerned himself with where the district lines are drawn throughout the county. The courts and the Legislature will determine next steps and Congressman Jolly will remain focused solely on doing his job and serving all of Pinellas county. As the congressman has said many times, if he continues to do the job he was elected to do, the politics will take care of itself." *
He would probably win, my brother lives near him and they treat Crist like the Mayor down there. He is very well liked in St Pete.
A bit of history here and semi-correction to the ‘esteemed’ folks at Politico.
This district was so locked in by Congressman Bill Young (R) that no one was considered a serious contender against him for the past 20+ years. He won 20 consecutive terms in the US House.
Upon his death in 2013, it was determined that a replacement would be elected for the remainder of the 2012-14 term (March to November) upon which it become a standard election. The Democrats, hungry for a good omen leading into what appeared to be a dismal 2014 election cycle, hand-picked an established name, Alex Sink, who had most recently barely lost the 2010 Florida Governor’s campaign by 1% to Rick Scott.
The GOP, instead went through a district primary contest, with David Jolly, having the best funding and endorsement from most of Bill Young’s family, and having been on Bill Young’s Congressional Staff, won but with only a plurality, not a majority.
The March 2014 Special Election thus pitted a well known, well funded and experienced Democrat against a relatively unknown but ultimately well-funded Republican. David Jolly won by less than 2% in this special election BUT in the 2014 General Election, his margin against a barely-there Democrat was over 50%.
So Politico is at least somewhat misleading in citing a close election for 2014 without giving some increased explanation.
As for the district re-drawing, it does have an effect. Justification for the current boundaries lie with the fact that Hillsborough County ‘owns’ the mouth of the estuary of Tampa Bay and so gerrymandering Democrat South St Petersburg into the Democrat-leaning Tampa District (14) had ‘some’ legality in spite of an hour travel time by road.
But, like anything else, what has to give here to redistrict David Jolly’s District (13) will mean that the surrounding districts also have to be reworked to balance populations. Still it will be the GOP-control Florida Legislature that will have to do this in the next few months and there are sure to be ‘interesting times’ with this.
David Jolly is ok.. but I really want Jeff Atwater to run...
Ah. K. Thanks for the heads up. I had no idea.
Oh wow. K. Thank you for the input. I had truly never ever heard of him.
I don’t think he’s a “RINO” but he’s not as conservative as DeSantis or Miller so the moderates might back him.
Lt Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera seems to be their first choice.
He’s early in his career, it’s hard for me to see him (Jolly) winning the Senate primary, unless Lopez-Cantera is a dud.
I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO pissed off at the Florida Supreme Court. I’m told by our redistricting guru that we can avoid losing any seats, EXPECT for Jolly who is dead unless the federal courts (don’t hold your breath) act.
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