| The House has blown town for the holidays, have passed their part of the Defense Appropriations process. (And yes, we got it all, good and bad....) When they return in January, there will be some changes. First, Robert Wexler is officially gone. He is now president of the Center for Middle East Peace & Economic Cooperation. Their main headquarters are in DC, so he won't have to move. Whether he gives up the family home in Florida is anyone's guess. Political upshot? Special election, and a vacant seat until then. The seat will likely remain in Democratic hands since Wexler carried the Florida 19th in 2008 with 66.2% of the vote, and Obama carried 65%. Schedule: special primary on 2 February, general on 13 April. Likely winner: State Senator Ted Deutch, currently carrying not only Wexler's endorsement, but also those of Alcee Hastings, Ron Klein, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the Florida AFL-CIO, The primary challenger is Ben Graber. Another thing that will look different when the House reconvenes in January is the make-up of the blue dog caucus. You already know that 3 of the 4 retiring Democratic Congressmen, Dennis Moore, John Tanner and Bart Gordon, are blue dogs. You may remember that Tanner was one of the founders, and Moore previously held leadership positions within the caucus. The caucus will be adding three members in January: Betsy Markey (CO), Scott Murphy (NY) and Kurt Schrader (OR). Note that all three are Freshman reps. |
