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FL-Sen: Gelber "Not Shutting Any Doors" on AG Run

by: James L.

Tue May 12, 2009 at 8:20 PM EDT


Is state Sen. Dan Gelber considering bailing on the Democratic primary for Senate now that uber-popular Gov. Charlie Crist has made his candidacy official? The St. Pete Times has a teaser:

Certainly a lot of Florida Democrats want to avoid divisive primaries and Dan Gelber would be a natural candidate for attorney general, but the Miami Beach Democrat says he remains a U.S. Senate candidate, for now.

"I'm not shutting any doors," he said about an A.G. run, which unlike the US Senate, would require him to resign his state senate job.

If Gelber, himself a former federal prosecutor, decides to run for state attorney general instead, he will likely face a competitive primary. Dave Aronberg, one of Gelber's caucus-mates, says that he will run for the job if incumbent AG Bill McCollum (R) runs for Governor, which seems likely.

UPDATE: Perhaps surprisingly, Dem Rep. Ron Klein says that he's not shutting any doors, either, on a Senate run.
James L. :: FL-Sen: Gelber "Not Shutting Any Doors" on AG Run
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FL-Sen: Gelber "Not Shutting Any Doors" on AG Run | 25 comments
I'd rather see
Aronberg run in FL-16. Although that's against an incumbent, so maybe not as tempting... but still, a freshman in a swing district? He should go for it.
Wasn't Gelber the one in the primary that was supposed to have bite?
While it's not clear yet whether he will get out or not, Meek, the one who's supposedly the light weight, has said he's running regardless of Crist.

http://www.bluearkansasblog.com
Wait
Klein waits until Crist gets in to show any interest in a run?  WTH.  
So is Crist's selfishness going to set off
a Democratic resurgence in Florida? I'm not putting money on it. . .
Maybe not, but it opens the door.
One, Alex Sink has an extremely good chance of becoming the governor of Florida.  It looks like we've got some great candidates for AG now.  And there are probably other openings as well-Lt. Gov and Ag Comm.  It may not count as a resurgence if we don't sweep the legislature, but if we win a handful of statewide offices it's definately a vast improvement.

http://www.bluearkansasblog.com
[ Parent ]
I think if you looked at anything but the Presidential level
you would say that Florida is more red than purple. And the bad news is that a good map drawer can turn a 52% majority of the votes into about 2/3 of the legislative seats. Add all but two statewide offices (CFO and Senate), and you've got a pretty bleak outlook for Dems.

I'm hoping for an improvement, of course.  

[ Parent ]
Republican sure thing in jeopardy
If Jeb continues to pussyfoot around or even obliquely support Rubio, that in itself is a surprising difference from Pennsylvania six years ago, when Santorum and the troops rallied around Specter, helping him barely pull out a primary victory. Rubio is more telegenic than Toomey, and he's a more compelling candidate. The Florida Republican electorate, however diverse it's alleged to be, is probably moving toward an exclusionary frame of mind, along with the rest of the party. Therefore, despite initial polls predictably showing Crist ahead, it's likely that there's a real battle ahead. I think the outcome is in doubt right now. That's the realistic perspective.

So that leaves it to the Democrats to produce a viable candidate--a Kay Hagen for the Sunshine State. I don't know if we've got one right now, but I sure hope we do or that we find one quick. We can win this, especially if Crist is knocked off in the primary, but potentially even if he survives, bloody and bowed.

Well said. I second that. EOM.

[ Parent ]
Agree totally
But right now, I think we're looking at the strong likelihood of Kendrick Meek being the Dem candidate, and I assume you don't think Meek is a Hagan-type candidate or else you wouldn't have needed that descriptor.

Meek's bringing in the big bucks and unless you can find some dem who Meek would defer to or could coalesce the FL Dem party fairly easily, there aren't a lot of other options.

Using the Kay Hagan example if one of the first seven options had decided to run we wouldn't have Hagan

[ Parent ]
Thanks but no thanks
I hope Aronberg wins the AG primary.  He's more impressive than Gelber.
He certainly looks good on paper.
I'd be happy to have someone half as qualified as Aronberg as my AG.

http://www.bluearkansasblog.com
[ Parent ]
And easy on the eyes
[ Parent ]
Lol! That he is!
Had no idea you were on my side of that fence.

http://www.bluearkansasblog.com
[ Parent ]
lol
I'm not.  Just pointing out the obvious.
[ Parent ]
Lol! Ok, no offense meant.
[ Parent ]
Ugg
I hope Klein doesn't jump in the Senate race.  We need him to hold that house seat and I doubt even he could beat Crist.
So It finally hit me when I Went to Politics1
Senate - Mel Martinez - Retiring - OPEN SEAT
Governor - Charlie Crist - Running for Senate - OPEN SEAT
Lt. Gov. - Jeff Kottkamp - Runs as a ticket with Gov - OPEN SEAT
Attorney General - Bill McCollum - Likely to run for Governor - Likely OPEN SEAT
Chief Financial Officer - Alex Sink - Likely to run for Governor - Likely OPEN SEAT
Agriculture Commissioner - Charles Bronson - Term Limited Out - OPEN SEAT

So, if I am correct, it is likely that every statewide position in Florida that is on the ballot in 2010 will be an open seat. Amazing.

26, Male, Democrat, TX-26

Yep
That is going to be the case.  Crist running for Senate had the effect of 4 offices being vacated.
[ Parent ]
If McCollum
Gets the GOP nom. for Gov. I wonder if hed choose a moderate or at least a pragmatic conservative, as his runningmate, or will just go with ideological 'purity'. Wonder whod be interested in the Lt. Gov. position, as well.  
[ Parent ]
Purity
I'll guarantee he picks a conservative.  My guess is he may just pick current Lt Gov. Kottkamp who is a solid conservative.  
[ Parent ]
Any chance
Kottkamp runs for governor and makes that primary all the more fun?

22, Democrat, AZ-01
Peace. Love. Gabby.
[ Parent ]
He's got some legal issues.
[ Parent ]
Kottkamp is generally considered an empty suit
even if he ran, he probably wouldn't make any serious impact.
[ Parent ]
What Johnny said
Noone really takes Kottkamp seriously as a legit threat in the Governor's race.  He was picked by Crist as Lt Gov more because he's a conservative who works behind the scenes.  The only thing I can see him try to run for as maybe Lt Gov under McCollum.
[ Parent ]
I guess Gelber doesn't feel he could beat Meek
It feels like he got in to the senate race in the hope that nobody else would, so he could lose respectably and build a profile to win a future statewide race.

I guess with Meek's fundraising and higher visibility, he's not seeing a route to beat him without going negative (and you don't want to do that in a Florida primary, especially if you're a Jewish liberal from Miami and your opponent is the first credible black statewide candidate).

I think it's a pity if he does move over to AG, as he did seem like a candidate who would at least have softened up Crist, but that's life.

FL-Sen: Gelber "Not Shutting Any Doors" on AG Run | 25 comments

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