Two years ago, the Tea Party rebellion that went from coast to coast animated Tampa Bay area Republicans, with several of them engaging in a spirited primary election to take on Democratic incumbent Congresswoman Kathy Castor.
However, Castor swatted away those conservative fantasies by vanquishing the survivor of that GOP primary in 2010, Mike Prendergast.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe was a GOP primary candidate in 2012 set to face Castor, but he later dropped out of the race when he realized fundraising was a major chore against the incumbent in an overwhelmingly Democratic district.
So who is this year's sacrificial lamb GOP opponent? It's E.J. Otero, a retired Air Force Colonel who had tours of duty supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
Otero hasn't received much support from the Republican Party of Florida, but he was allowed to speak briefly at the GOP get-out-the-vote rally in the tight confines of La Segunda Bakery in Ybor City, which featured a host of Republican officials, including former Gov. Jeb Bush.
