Our dream of another Charlie Crist campaign in 2016 — Senate, House or otherwise — was a short-lived one. Last week the former governor floated the idea of a 2016 Senate candidacy as a Democrat, which would have been his third overall and first as a Democrat (he ran in 1998 as a Republican, 2010 as a non-party candidate). There had also been speculation that he might challenge Republican Congressman David Jolly, who won his seat in a tight race against Alex Sink just over a year ago in a special election to fill the late Congressman Bill Young's seat.
Well, apparently none of that's going to happen. Crist said Monday he's going to sit 2016 out.
“As members of the Florida Democratic Party, we stand for something — fairness, growing the middle class, and policies that strengthen future generations,” Crist announced on his Facebook page Monday. “I will not be seeking office in 2016, but I will be working alongside you. Too much is at stake for our beautiful Florida to be on the sidelines.”
The Democratic field is still pretty open in terms of a challenger to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio's seat. Rubio, of course, is trying to run for president, though it appears that U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, head of the Democratic National Committee, has also taken her name out of the running, which may bolster an effort by Orlando area Congressman Alan Grayson.
Jolly, of course, would be a tough-to-beat incumbent, we reckon, but Democrats are already talking up a guy by the name of Eric Lynn, according to Mitch Perry over at SaintPetersBlog.
Lynn is a special advisor to the Secretary of Defense who graduated from high school in St. Petersburg before earning his B.A. from Northwestern University and his law degree from Georgetown. He lists St. Pete as his city of residence on his Facebook page.
He was on the list of potential challengers to Jolly in the 2014 general election, but ultimately declined...as did everyone else, eventually.
While local Democrats seem to support his candidacy, there is some concern over whether Jolly is beatable. After all, he is an incumbent with an intensive approach to constituent service and has taken a bipartisan approach on some (but certainlynot all) issues.
The DCCC seems up for a challenge. Here's what a spokesman told Perry:
“Since arriving in Washington, Congressman Jolly has proven he’s more than willing to contribute to the Republican dysfunction,” said Matt Thornton, head of communications with the DCCC. “Given Congressman Jolly’s history of trying to deceive Florida voters about his background as a lobbyist — as well as his willingness to risk Social Security in the stock market — it’s no surprise Democrats are already lining up to challenge him.”