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Conservative Group Backs Grayson in New Ad

May 26, 2015 at 4:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

“In a rare encroachment into a Democratic primary, the conservative Club for Growth is airing a television ad that attacks Florida Senate candidate Patrick Murphy for supporting the Export-Import Bank and praises potential rival Alan Grayson for opposing the credit agency for American businesses,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The ad is part of a $1 million advertising campaign by the Club for Growth, a free-market group that casts Ex-Im spending as corporate welfare and is best known for attacking centrist Republicans.”

Grayson Flips Out Over Disclosure of Offshore Investments

May 13, 2015 at 4:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 35 Comments

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), “the outspoken, populist Democrat who thunders against Wall Street fat cats,and used to to joke about Mitt Romney’s low tax bill, incorporated a couple hedge funds in the Cayman Islands so investors could avoid taxes,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.

But he wasn’t happy when asked about it by a reporter.

Said Grayson: “Are you fucking kidding? I set up a fund that might solicit foreign investors….I have no present intention of soliciting foreign investors. Your perception issue is bullshit. This is even worse than Grayson’s girlfriend might run for congress 18 months from now. This is a whole nother level of bullshit. Are are you some kind of shitting robot? You go around shitting on on people?”

He added that every time “some bullshit artist calls you up and tries to stick a knife in my gut” makes him more inclined to run for U.S. Senate.

Bonus Quote of the Day

May 13, 2015 at 7:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

“I would be very surprised if I ever lost a primary in my life. Our voters will crawl over hot coals to vote for me.”

— Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), in an interview with CNN, on a possible U.S. Senate bid.

No Clear Leaders for U.S. Senate in Florida

April 22, 2015 at 6:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

A new Mason-Dixon poll in Florida finds Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) leads Rep. Alan Grayson (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, 23% to 14%, though 63% are still undecided.

In the GOP race, Bill McCollum (R) leads with 20%, followed by Rep. David Jolly (R) at 8%, Vern Buchanan (R) at 7% and Tom Rooney (R) at 5% and 48% undecided.

Another Florida Republican Declines Senate Bid

April 21, 2015 at 8:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

“Two weeks after floating the idea of a 2016 run for U.S. Senate, Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) said today he has decided against seeking the seat Sen. Marco Rubio is giving up to run for president,” the Palm Beach Post reports.

Florida Senate Seat is a Toss Up

April 13, 2015 at 3:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

Cook Political Report: “Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s decision to seek the Republican presidential nomination and thus forgo a re-election bid creates the second open GOP seat of the cycle. It also becomes the first Republican seat in the Toss Up column. Had Rubio run for re-election, he would have started the race as the favorite, but an open seat in a swing state in a presidential year will be a much more competitive contest.”

Atwater Backs Out of Senate Bid

April 11, 2015 at 7:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 32 Comments

“Just as he looked like a front-runner to replace Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida CFO Jeff Atwater announced Saturday he would not run for the seat,” Politico reports.

“The Rubio and Atwater decisions are setting off the very type of nightmare scenarios Republican Party leaders were hoping to avoid in Florida, a state the GOP essentially needs to win to carry that White House but that trends Democratic in presidential election years.”

Atwater Leads for Senate in Florida

April 6, 2015 at 12:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

A new Quinnipiac poll in Florida finds Jeff Atwater (R) is the strongest candidate in an early look at the 2016 U.S. Senate race in Florida.

Atwater leaders Rep. Patrick Murphy (D), 38%, to 34%, and tops Rep. Alan Grayson (D), 42% to 32%.

Crist Will Not Make Another Senate Bid

March 17, 2015 at 10:43 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (D) has ruled out a Senate bid in 2016, the Huffington Post reports.

“Crist, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Rick Scott (R) in last year’s gubernatorial race, was reportedly considering jumping in the race for Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R) seat. (Rubio is widely expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination, and is barred from seeking re-election in the Senate if he does so since Florida law prohibits individuals from appearing on a ballot twice.)”

Crist Mulls Another Senate Bid

March 11, 2015 at 3:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

Charlie Crist (D) “might be back on the Florida ballot once again,” CNN reports.

“The former Florida governor, who lost his Republican-turned-Independent bid for Senate in 2010 and then fell short in his comeback attempt as a Democrat in last year’s gubernatorial race, is now considering running for Senate in 2016.”

Rubio Appears Decided on Presidential Bid

February 24, 2015 at 9:38 am EST By Taegan Goddard 48 Comments

The New York Times reports Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) “is quietly telling donors that he is committed to running for president, not re-election to the Senate.”

He’s expected to make a formal announcement in April.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Considering Senate Bid

February 17, 2015 at 1:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 34 Comments

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), the DNC chair, “is strongly considering a bid for U.S. Senate, calculating that having Hillary Clinton at the top of the 2016 ticket would help lift her candidacy in a year-of-the-woman campaign,” Politico reports.

Grayson Mulls Senate Bid in Florida

February 3, 2015 at 6:27 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 41 Comments

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) told The Hill he’s thinking of running for the U.S. Senate in 2016.

Said Grayson: “We have some very substantial advantages. I have over 100,000 individual contributors, no one else on the House Democratic side has anything like that. We have raised as much as $5 million in an individual cycle for a House seat, again there’s nobody [who has done that].”

“Grayson indicated that the only thing that might keep him from running is if Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, enters the fray.”

Will Rubio Really Give Up His Senate Seat?

February 2, 2015 at 11:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) “is moving full throttle towards a White House bid, hitting the road hard to raise money and elevate his profile. While allies and advisors say he hasn’t made a final decision, most now privately expect he’ll take the plunge,” The Hill reports.

“It’s a gamble for the 43 year-old Rubio, who has to choose between running for another Senate term next year and undertaking a White House bid. Staying in the Senate is the surer bet, though reelection isn’t guaranteed in swing-state Florida.”

Rick Scott for President?

January 12, 2015 at 10:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard 27 Comments

Insiders say Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) wants to become president, the Miami Herald reports.

“It’s anyone’s guess how a politician with such low favorability ratings who has never captured 50 percent of the vote in Florida can win nationwide (or in Florida in a presidential election year, when the electorate is more liberal-leaning).”

“There’s a small possibility he could run in 2018 for U.S. Senate against Nelson. Independently wealthy and a great fundraiser, Scott would be a force to be reckoned with in a federal race, where there are strict limits on raising outside campaign money.”

Rubio Not Letting Bush Push Him Out

December 26, 2014 at 7:38 am EST By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) “is planning to take a more active role on the national political stage next month, undeterred by his former mentor Jeb Bush’s moves toward running for president,” The Hill reports.

“Republican strategists predicted months ago that Rubio would not run for the White House if Bush waged a bid. They assumed Rubio’s fundraising base in Florida would migrate entirely to Bush, the state’s former governor.”

The Wall Street Journal notes Rubio “is facing a difficult decision about running for president or continuing to represent Florida in the Senate.”