CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Oct. 15, 2009 – 12:19 a.m.
Florida Flurry: Pondering a Special Election Run
By John McArdle, CQ-Roll Call
Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler ’s unexpected announcement to leave office in early January has created a scramble among party officials to fill the 19th District seat in Southeast Florida.
But Wexler may help clear up that situation if he throws his support behind Democratic state Sen. Ted Deutch in the upcoming special election, as some Florida Democratic operatives say they expect.
Deutch won Wexler’s old state Senate seat in 2006 in part because Wexler supported him over a better known, self-funding state representative who outspent Deutch 5-to-1.
Wexler announced Wednesday he will leave Congress in January to become president of the nonprofit Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation.
Geographically, Deutch is best positioned for a run at the 19th district. His state Senate seat covers a little over half the district and the vast majority of his district lies in Palm Beach County.
His top potential competitors, state Sen. Jeremy Ring and Broward Mayor Stacy Ritter both hail from Broward County, which makes up less than a third of the 19th. One potential candidate who could dig into Deutch’s geographic base in Palm Beach County is Lois Frankel, the mayor of the city of Palm Beach.
“Ted Deutch is the 800 pound gorilla in the race. Everyone else is coming up with a formula on how to win while it would be Ted’s [race] to lose,” one Democratic operative said.
Ben Graber, who served as a Broward County commissioner, wasted no time in announcing he would be a candidate in the special election.
Graber placced third, with 21 percent, in the 1996 primary that Wexler ended up winning. He ran for the seat again last year as a no-party candidate and took just 7 percent in the general election.
His announcement Wednesday focused on his medical background, saying he “is a known expert on health care reform and successfully sponsored into law the Florida Health Reform Act of 1993 and 1996 ... He will bring to the debate his expertise in patient-centered health care and an ability to pass complex legislation.”
Businessman Jose Ruiz is another conservative Democrat who was already in the 19th district race before Wexler announced his resignation.
Endorsement Ahead
For his part, Wexler hinted that an endorsement in the special election would be forthcoming.
“I have been known to get involved in primaries before, both to people’s happiness and chagrin,” he said Wednesday at his news conference in Boca Raton. “Today, I’m announcing my plans and my position. I care deeply about the person who will replace me and lead this community in Congress, so we will leave that for another day. But I’ve done it before and I care a great deal about this community.”
Deutch issued a statement Wednesday praising Wexler’s service, but kept a low profile.
Ring said he’s “very serious about investigating” a congressional bid and that he planned to have a poll in the field by Thursday afternoon.
Ring, a former Yahoo! executive whom Wexler also backed in 2006, said he is approaching the special election primary as if it were a business.
“The CEO just left and the two senior vice presidents [Duetuch and Ring] are vying for the job,” he said. “Ted and I bring the same political experience. But I bring very important and critical business experience which is needed in this environment.”
Ring, who spent $800,000 of his own money on his state Senate race, also bring deep pockets and a national fundraising network that allowed him to raise another $700,000 for that race. And fundraising will be key in an abbreviated special election.
Ring said it would not make a difference if Wexler endorses Deutch but that he’d make his decision based on his family needs, his career outside the Florida Legislature and whether he sees a path to victory in the special election.
Frankel and Ritter also said Wednesday that they were seriously considering entering the race.
“I’ve always had a longstanding interest in serving in Congress when the time is right,” Frenkel said.
“I’m considering it,” said Ritter, who worked with Wexler on the Obama campaign in Florida. Ritter said she plans to make her decision by next week.
Republican Gov. Charlie Crist must still set a date for the special election. Wexler is set to begin his new job on Jan. 2.
Democratic Rep. Kendrick B. Meek , who is running for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat — that Crist is also vying for — held a news conference Wednesday on his candidacy — and noted that Deutch “leaped out there early. He’s out there making phone calls” to Florida Democratic operatives.
Meek didn’t make any prediction in the special election except to say that the seat would stay in Democratic hands. But the primary, he said, “is going to be a humdinger.”
CQ Politics currently rates the race as Safe Democratic
To see how the 2010 House races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics election map
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