We have taken particular interest in the Republican Congressional race in Florida's District 11, the seat that has been held seemingly forever by Democrats – the last four years by Kathy Castor.
Castor will face former military man Mike Prendergast, who as we write with 153 of 203 precincts reporting, has a 20% lead over his closest challenger, air conditioning and heating guy Tommy Castellano. Tony Buntyn and Eddie Adams Jr. are battling it out for third place, well behind Prendergast.
Castellano was endorsed by seemingly all the big guys in town – the St. Petersburg Times, the Tampa Tribune, and La Gaceta. And well, the results speak for themselves. Perhaps it affected some voters, but Castellano didn't have Prendergast's finances or organization, and it showed that those endorsements didn't really mean much at all when it counted.
Prendergast figures to give Castor a harder run for office than Adams has in 2006 and 2008. Although the odds of the Republicans taking the seat are extremely remote, it would be naive to believe that the national anti-Democratic party mood wouldn't be felt to some extent in the District, which includes much of Hillsborough County, and small parts of St. Petersburg and Manatee County – carved up to favor a Democrat.
Texas Republican Congressman Pete Sessions personally raised money for Prendegast earlier this year, and promised him that he would return for another fundraiser after the primary. The Republican National Congressional Committee doesn't have unlimited resources, so it's questionable about how much Washington money will come flowing, but it should be an interesting
This article appears in Aug 19-25, 2010.