Regardless of where you stand politically, you've got to feel a bit of sympathy today for Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee chair Chris Mitchell.
Criticized by local Democrats for his party's inability to field candidates in every local race (a criticism which was also directed towards his predecessors), the party had a candidate in the Senate District 17 race this time around in Wes Johnson, a retired small business owner. He was running unopposed in the August 14 primary, where he would then square off against the Republican in November.
John Legg, Rob Wallace and John Korsack are the GOP candidates, with Legg the heavy establishment favorite. The seat is currently held by disgraced former Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman, who announced earlier this summer that he would not run for re-election.
To highlight the sad plight of the local Democratic party apparatus, just go back two years ago at this time.
Norman was already the subject of embarrassing news coverage two years ago after it was discovered that his wife Mearline had been the recipient of a $500,000 "gift" from the late Ralph Hughes, the GOP power broker who supported Norman throughout his tenure on the county commission.
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2012.