Turns and Twists of the 2010 Election

First, let’s look at some of the numbers. There are twenty Florida Senate seats up for a vote in 2010. Ten incumbents in those races (seven Republicans and three Democrats) are unopposed. Meanwhile, all seats on the House side of the isle will be voted on this year. Eighty-six incumbents are up for re-election. Presently, twenty-four Republicans and seventeen Democrats are unopposed. That could change on any given day, until the qualifying period ends.

Just when thought you knew who was running for what office, the candidates move the cheese on us. As we all well know, change is good, right? Well, I for one never did buy into that 100% of the time. This is especially true when I am trying to keep up with so many political races?”

Time, however, has cleared up some of the races for 2010. Note, I did say some.

It was just a few months ago that Governor Crist held a double digit lead in the US Senate race over former Speaker of the House, Marco Rubio. Can you believe how that race has changed right before our eyes? That Primary winner will probably go down to the wire. Don’t bury the Governor’s chances just yet. He has raised a lot of money. This is going to be one of the most expensive Primary races in Florida history.

Now get your scorecard out. Senator Carey Baker has dropped out of his Primary race against Congressman Adam Putnam for Agriculture Commissioner. Sen. Baker will now finish serving his term as State Senator for District 20. He is termed out in 2012. That sounds easy enough to follow, right? If only politics were that simple in 2010.

Baker’s decision to stay on as Senator has had a domino effect. Representative Alan Hays (District 25) who was running for Baker’s seat will now have to change his filing info with the state elections office and run for his House seat again. Then he can finally run for the District 20 Senate race in 2012. I know of at least one other candidate who has already switched from the Senate race that no longer exists and is now running for Hays' seat.

Now that you’re a bit dizzy let’s just put the cheese away for now.

The next big push for those currently serving legislators is fundraising. The next deadline candidates face regarding their campaign finances is March 31st. Since an elected candidate is forbidden to conduct fundraising efforts during the Florida Legislative session, which begins on March 2nd. The month of February is certainly a very busy for the incumbents.

Are we having fun, yet? Let's go back to Senator Baker for just a moment. He is sponsoring SB 1048 for the 2010 session. The House Companion Bill is HB 693 by Plakon. These bills are concerning F.S.S. 255 Construction Bonds and F.S.S.713 Construction Liens. Two years in the making, it is fair minded legislation to all parties. It has broad construction industry support. When prompted I certainly hope you will contact your personal Senator and House Rep during the 2010 session and ask that SB 1048 and HB 693 be passed in to law. If you have questions, contact me. If you would like to see a copy of these bills, go to http://www.flsenate.gov/session/index.cfm?BI_Mode=ViewBillInfo&Mode=Bills&ElementID=JumpToBox&SubMenu=1&Year=2010&billnum=1048 and http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=43117&SessionId=64


Wade