Cross-posted at BlueSunbelt As a 25-year-long -- often frustrated -- Eager to augment their newfound majority status, Democrats are going into attack mode regarding U.S. House races in 2008, and they’ve set their sights high this time. One of their goals: nothing short of defeating the longest-serving House Republican, Representative C.W. Bill Young of But, This from The Politico:
Young, 76, has won mostly landslide victories since his first House election in 1970. He hasn't faced a serious challenge since 1992, and he has won at least 66 percent of the vote since then, including running unopposed three times. Even in 2006, a huge year for Democrats nationally, Young still defeated his under-funded opponent by a 2-1 ratio. But despite Young's success, his St. Petersburg-based district is about as competitive as Republican-held seats come. The district supported President Bush by only two points in 2004 and backed Al Gore by a two-point margin in 2000. The DCCC believes that with the right candidate and enough funding, Young could be vulnerable. "He is one of our top targets," said DCCC spokeswoman Kyra Jennings. The committee sent its regional operative to Justice, Kriseman and Heller all picked up Republican-held seats in the state legislature last year. Their success bolsters state party officials’ confidence that the region is trending more and more Democratic. Party officials say any challenge to Young would be expensive though. The Tampa-St. Petersburg area recently surpassed More from the article:
In targeting Young, Democrats are seizing on comments he made to the Washington Post indicating that he was aware of the conditions at In response, the Florida Democratic Party launched a new feature on its Web site, hammering Young for being "more concerned about not embarrassing the Army than he was about the care of Reportedly, Young was stunned by the criticism because of the substantial amount of time he and his wife spend visiting wounded soldiers at the medical center.
Young added that he had never visited the part of Walter Reed that has been the source of the latest controversy, and his past criticism of the medical center’s patient care dealt with problems in other parts of the facility. In a response to Karen Thurman, a former Democratic House member, Young conveyed his “… great surprise that you have joined the personal smear campaign, especially since you know better.” He then dared Thurman to identify any member of the U.S. Congress who has done more for wounded soldiers and Marines than had he and his wife. Recently, Young has been the subject of retirement rumors, fueled by his newfound minority status on the Appropriations Committee. But the Walter Reed scandal seems to have refueled Young’s desire to run for re-election.
This one will be a tough nut for the State party to crack. In my humble opinion, Charlie Justice is the only Democrat with a chance of beating Young. The Politico’s 2008 presidential candidates page. |
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Emboldened Democrats go on the Offensive in Florida
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