At a time when the Florida electorate is growing increasingly diverse, the Republican party is gearing up to field an all-male, all-white slate in 2010.
In contrast, the Democratic front-runners for the top of the ticket are U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a 42-year-old African American running for the U.S. Senate, and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink for governor, who would be the state's first female chief executive. A handful of Hispanic and Jewish Democrats are potentially in the mix for attorney general and chief financial officer.
''It's something I see as an advantage for Florida voters, that the Democratic ticket could end up looking like it represents Florida's population,'' said Ana Cruz, a top Meek advisor.
The Republican front-runners for statewide office include Gov. Charlie Crist for Senate, Attorney General Bill McCollum for governor, Senate President Jeff Atwater for chief financial officer and U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam for agriculture commissioner. Putnam is the only one of the GOP candidates under 50 years old.
"We are the party of recruiting the best candidates based on qualifications not on race. That explains our success over the years,'' said Carlos Curbelo, chairman of the state party's Hispanic Leadership Council."And still, we have elected a Hispanic U.S. senator, three members of Congress, and dozens of state legislators to public office. Compare that to the Democrats' record, and there is no comparison."
Keep reading here.
Is this reporting? This is stupid. You leave out the fact that people like Marco Rubio are running. How about the fact that the Democrats don;t have anyone better to even challenge Sink? or is it that they have silenced everyone and let her be the heiress of the throne? You are definitely putting a negative spin on things. How much does the DNC pay you again?
beth@barackobama.com
Posted by: hello? | May 24, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Hey Curbelo, what qualifies Charlie Crist to be US Senator other than the fact he has jumped from office to office his entire adult life? What has Charlie Crist ever produced in the private sector? Heck, what are Charlie's accomplishments in the public sector other than being elected time after time? Any legislative accomplishments? With Jeb you could say education was his thing, but what is Charlie's thing? Taxes drop like a rock? Insurance rates drop like a rock? What?
What qualifies this guy to ANY elected office?
Posted by: Just wondering | May 25, 2009 at 01:35 AM
Beth,
We forgot to give you your email address. It is: beth@fladems.com. Thanks for your continued contributions in through reporting and in $$$.
Sincerely,
Eric Jakoff
Communications Director
Florida Democratic Party
Posted by: Eric Jakoff | May 25, 2009 at 01:51 AM
So should we vote for the best candidates, Beth, or the most "diverse" ones? What a waste of bandwidth. But it's good to know that the media has at least bought into the Dems' identity politics game.
FWIW, I'm supporting Rubio for Senate, but I guess he doesn't count as "diverse" since he's an R, right? Wink, wink.
Posted by: KilroyFSU | May 25, 2009 at 11:16 AM
Paula Dockery is the best choice that the GOP has for Governor.
Bright, conservative, big win against CSX and a cadre of grassroots supporters that anyone would crave.
Dockery for Governor!
Posted by: Ellen Shultz | May 25, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Paula Dockery? but I thought Beth said it was all white male?
Beth has issues. Go get a shrink to help you with that.
Posted by: lol | May 25, 2009 at 11:30 AM
All of this is speculation, nothing could be further from the truth.
Posted by: Antique Cabinets | May 31, 2009 at 06:31 AM