U.S. Senator Marco Rubio announces that he intends to run for president and won’t seek to keep his Senate seat. Speculation on who will run, especially on the GOP side, ensues. When Attorney General Pam Bondi and CFO Jeff Atwater take their names out, lesser-known Republicans step in, including Pinellas-area Congressman David Jolly, Lieutenant Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Tea Party Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis of Ponte Verdra. All are trying to out-Obama-hate one another. On the Democrat side, things were a little boring until about May. Establishment Democrats put their faith in West Palm Congressman Patrick Murphy, a mild-mannered former Republican. But then Orlando-area Congressman Alan Grayson announced he will be challenging Murphy in the August 2016 Democratic primary. Grayson, unlike Murphy, is not mild-mannered and definitely does not give a shit what you think. Republicans are rejoicing, as Grayson is a sharp-tongued progressive (with name recognition, too) who could be pretty appealing to the Democrats’ progressive base.
This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2015.