Reality in FL....3 districts affected by left/right tug of war in primary.

[madfloridian]

I will use Jan Schneider's race because she is so well known. Jan ran against Katherine Harris before, and a lot here donated to her. She is not exactly known as a liberal, actually rather moderate, she would be a great congresswoman.

However, the same thing happened to her that happened in my district 12, and in at least two others...probably more. It was decided she was not "moderate" enough to appeal to the Republican folks, so she had to spend 250,000 to outlast her primary opponent. Appeals to the Florida party were made by 3 candidates that I know of, including Jan. Nothing came of it. She had little left to fight Harris, and Harris ran absolutely ugly ads non stop against Jan.

In the other districts nearer us, there were just great guys running. They were dedicated Democrats, well educated, getting a lot of attention. Suddenly in one district appears a person who has dubious party ties, suspicious bio, and couldn't win squat. Guess what, he won the primary. And lost to the GOP incumbent.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041121/NEWS/411210824/1060

Defeated congressional hopeful Jan Schneider, a Sarasota Democrat, is blaming her loss on fellow Sarasota Democrat Christine Jennings and Democratic leaders who refused to stop Jennings from running in the August primary.

Schneider said the money she spent battling Jennings would have helped her defeat U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Longboat Key, in the general election.

Schneider spent more than $250,000 in the primary battle, which also included Manatee County Democrats C.J. Czaia and Floyd Jay Winter....."

Here is a list of her endorsements and supporters. She lost to Katherine Harris by about the same percentage as last time.
http://www.schneider-for-congress.com/2004/pressreleases.html

[madfloridian]

1. A kick for what happened in several Florida districts.

It is hurting us here to have the fear of not pleasing the moderate Republican views.

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. She lost because she ran in a heavily Republican district

Her attempt to blame others for her loss probably won't win her much support in the future.