David Jolly Jumps into the Senate Race

In March 2014, Pinellas county chose a lease with an option to buy in November when it came to sending Republican David Jolly to Congress.

Now Congressman David Jolly is looking for a promotion to the Senate. On Monday, Congressman David Jolly announced he was running for U.S. Senate. In April, the Senate race looked bleak after Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater withdrew his name from a short list of potential contenders. As someone who spent a considerable amount of time on the front with lines with the CFO, it was a devastating loss to the political arena and the hopes of Republicans being able to maintain control of Rubio’s seat looked dismal.

Over the past few months, Floridians have watched as varying degrees of Republican candidates have jumped into the Senate race. Many have been received with limited excitement and little name recognition outside of their respective hometowns, and while Jolly’s entrance into the growing primary field was not much different, he brings a different kind of campaign experience to the table than his fellow opponents.

During the special election in 2014, David Jolly had an uphill battle and narrowly beat his opponent, former Chief Financial Officer of Florida, Alex Sink. Many strategists in the state wrote Jolly off and the press was more interested in reporting on David Jolly’s girlfriend than his race against Sink. In the end, Jolly did exactly what he set out to do, “let’s win this for Pinellas.”

The last time I was privy to this type of Special Election victory was in 2010 when Charles Djou beat out five Democrats, four Republicans, and four independent candidates with 39.4% of the vote. This was the first time in 20 years a Republican had represented Hawai’i’s 1st congressional district. November of that same year, Representative Charles Djou would have to run again for a full term. However, Representative Djou faced a tough battle in an all blue state and lost to Democratic nominee State Senator Colleen Hanabusa.

As a candidate in a special election the campaign never fully ends until you are elected for a full term. Djou’s lease ran up in November 2010, and he has since struggled to find his way back to Washington. While the political landscape in Hawai’i is not the same as Florida, the concept is still the same.

Congressman David Jolly won his reelection to a first full term in November 2014 beating Independent Lucas Overby with 75% of the vote. The question now is will Congressman David Jolly be able to beat his primary opponents and then win the general election. My magic 8ball says Jolly’s outlook on winning the primary is good. The general election will be another tough uphill battle, but given Jolly’s track record in Washington and ability to pull out a win when it counts the most, Florida voters can rest a little easier when it comes to finding a suitable Republican candidate to fill Rubio’s seat.