Former Sarasota House Democrat Keith Fitzgerald says he will announce on Thursday whether or not he'll run for the nomination to oppose Republican incumbent Vern Buchanan in the Florida Congressional District 13 race next year (the district encompasses all of Sarasota, DeSoto, and Hardee counties and most of Manatee County).
If he can raise sufficient money, Fitzgerald should be a very viable candidate to try to swing the district blue, as Fitzgerald's center-left political philosophy should mesh well with the 13th's moderate reputation.
And in Vern Buchanan, a man you might recall who was initially elected in 2006 under controversial standards, hasn't exactly been a paragon of ethics, if you believe the group CREW, or Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, who in a recent report said of Buchanan,
Witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and bribery are all in a day’s work for the ethically challenged Rep. Vern Buchanan.
This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2011.