Floridians could very well see a reenactment of the historic 2010 “David vs. Goliath” U.S. Senate brawl between then-Republican Governor Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio.
Ok, maybe that statement is a bit far-fetched, considering that the four Republican Senate candidates in the 2016 election cycle are all virtual unknowns around Florida, let alone around the country.About 5 years, Rubio’s Senate campaign broke out with that widely circulated National Review coved story titled “Yes, He Can.” Even though Crist was still leading him in the polls by double-digits and in campaign cash, the campaign had already grabbed the nation’s attention.
The 2016 Senate race to replace Rubio, who is running for President, is far from being that 2010 Senate race, but there are some parallels in the race that need to be pointed out.
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First of all, there are four viable candidates in the race, which was not the case in 2010, where only Rubio and Crist had a chance of winning.
Rep. David Jolly (R) who represents Crist’s county of Pinellas, is considered a moderate Republican, and has managed to garner an ‘F’ conservative rating from Heritage Action and Conservative Review.
Here is what we posted in a prior story about Rep. Jolly’s not-so-conservative voting record:-Jolly supported fully funding President Obama’s executive amnesty for illegal immigrants program,
This is a death blow for him.
-Jolly voted in favor of approving Washington, D.C.’s abortion mandates, “which would force pro-lifers to violate their religious beliefs.
-Jolly voted in favor of keeping the Death Tax, something Rubio and others opposed
-Jolly voted in favor of using taxpayer dollars to bail out the Highway Trust Fund. The bailout was for $11 billion.-Jolly says that marriage should be redefined.
-Jolly voted against Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget because he believed it to be “too conservative.”
-Jolly has refused to support the effort to defund Planned Parenthood, even as it has been learned that Planned Parenthood backs big bucks off the sale of aborted fetus body parts.
All of these conservative issues and positions that Jolly opposes, Rep. Ron DeSantis, like then-candidate, and now Senator Marco Rubio, supports.
DeSantis, like Rubio, has garnered the early support of the Club for Grown, Senate Conservatives Fund, FreedomWorks, and other conservative groups. DeSantis scores among the highest conservatives nationwide with Heritage Action and Conservative Review.
Here Jolly takes a jab at DeSantis over the perception that he wants to shut down the federal government:“I consider myself part of the governing caucus – not the shutdown caucus,” Jolly said in a brief interview with POLITICO. “Anybody who suggests shutting down the government can own their own record. I’ll own my own. … I’m a less-government conservative. But whatever your view of government is, if you’re an elected official, you have a responsibility to effectively administer that level of government. You don’t get to just shut it down. You don’t get to take your ball and go home. You don’t get to be angry about it. You don’t get to walk away from the negotiating table. You have a responsibility to govern.”-POLITICO
By no means am I saying that David Jolly is a reincarnation of Charlie Crist. Any comparison of Jolly to Crist will come ‘if’ he begins to evolve (flip flop) on issues.
And then there is Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who is friends with Rubio, and like DeSantis, can lean up against his conservative voting record while he was in the state legislature, and his recent job creation accomplishments as Florida’s Lt. Gov. But what about ‘CLC’s’ voting record? Taxes were raised to make ends meet when Crist was governor, and as a member of the House, Lopez-Cantera voted in favor of balancing the state budget, tax hikes included.
It doesn’t hurt ‘CLC” that he happens to be Hispanic and bilingual, which will help him convey his message to the growing Hispanic community in Florida, and across the country.
As far as Todd Wilcox is concerned, it still remains to be seen if and when this military vet and former CIA agent will come out with his conservatives guns blazing.Expect David Jolly to be painted as a Charlie Crist Republican, and for Jolly to try to paint DeSantis as a tin foil hat-wearing Tea Party and obstructionist member of Congress.
A huge battle between Jolly and DeSantis is brewing, which could allow Wilcox and ‘CLC’ to possibly slip through the backdoor and take votes away from both men.
The winner of the GOP Senate primary race could face outspoken Democrat Congressman Alan Grayson, who is leading Democratic Party favorite Rep. Patrick Murphy in the latest polls.
