Congressional candidate and former Pentagon official Eric Lynn is in a classic David versus Goliath primary in his pursuit of support for the Democratic nomination in the race for Florida's 13th Congressional District seat.
Former Governor Charlie Crist announced his candidacy for the seat in October, at least six months after Lynn, who by all measure has much less name recognition, announced his.
But despite the disparity in name recognition, money and endorsements have been piling up on either side, and on Friday Lynn's campaign announced a key one: the National Organization of Women (NOW).
A local member of that organization announced the news at a Thursday night event.
"We are pleased to inform you that because of your dedication to feminist issues, the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee has endorsed your candidacy for election to the United States House of Representatives in Florida's 13th Congressional District. We look forward to working with you to achieve full equality for women and girls," said Linda Stroller.
Leading up to the August primary, Lynn and Crist, a Republican-turned-Demorat, will most certainly be locked in a debate over who is the more progressive (but at the same time commonsense) of the two.
There's not really a distinctive pattern when it comes to Lynn's endorsements, though one may surmise that they lean slightly more progressive. Among key supporters are St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson, former Florida House Speaker Peter Rudy Wallace and St. Petersburg Councilman Charlie Gerdes.
The NOW endorsement, of course, is pretty good get for the Lynn campaign, and the candidate said in a written statement he feels it's justified.
"I’ve supported gender equality and feminist issues my entire life, but we still have work to do. Will you stand with NOW and endorse my candidacy?" he said.
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2016.