Republican Clay Shaw -- a 26-year moderate incumbent -- was defeated by Democratic state lawmaker Ron Klein in 2006 amid voters' anger at the GOP and the war in Iraq. Now Shaw is watching on the sidelines in a race where the question is have the tables turned and will Allen West, a Republican, capitalize on the right-leaning mood this year and beat Klein in the Broward/Palm Beach Congressional District 22.
On Thursday, Shaw will host a fundraiser reception at his home for West. Though they share party affiliation, Shaw and West have very different backgrounds and style: Shaw was a white career politician who reached out to Democrats while West is an African-American military contractor who spent most of his career in the Army and only registered to vote for the first time in 2003 and is a frequent critic of Democrats -- and sometimes Republicans.
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