Ok, so I've been thinking about this challenge every district thing. Makes perfect sense to me. I mean, you just never know what could happen. So, I've been following the diaries about how we are doing, and getting really excited. Are we going to break the record? Go Dems Go!!
But wait...
What about my district? What about FL-12?
Uh-oh, I thought to myself. We have a problem. There's no one running in FL-12! "Why don't you run, AUBoy?" you ask. "Well," I reply, "I'd love to, but I respect the Constitution and it says 20 year olds cannot be members of the House of Reps." So, what to do? What to do?
Unfortunately, I'm not home right now, I'm in college in DC. This makes searching for a candidate all the more difficult. I don't have any friends or family back home who are of age or politically inclined. So, I decided I'd ask the KOS community. I even volunteered to whore myself out for campiagn work on the weekends and at night (since I have an 8-5 job). No takers.
So, I e-mailed the Dems back home.
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is AUBOY, and I am a 20 year old registered Democrat from Lakeland, FL. While I am currently in DC for college, I am home during the summers and still vote in FL.
I have a quick question. Where is our candidate for US House District FL-12? I am sure I do not need to tell you that Adam Putnam should be a top target for any local Democratic organization. He is ranked number 5 in the Republican leadership and Tom Delay recently mentioned him as a future leader. If we do not act each and every year to try and stop Putnam, we may wind up with Senator Putnam in 2012 or Governor Putnam at some point. He's still young enough to be a conservative force for years to come. We Democrats need to act now, especially with the deadline coming up. Democrats are challenging a record number of seats this year and we wouldn't want FL-12 to stand out as one of the few we passed up.
As I said I am currently in college, but I will be home for the summer. I pledge to volunteer for whomever we run against Putnam when I am not at work. This is a cause worth fighting for.
Thank you.
I waited for an answer. Hopefully they'd tell me there was someone flying under the radar.
To my dismay:
Hello,
I'm Caroll Franklin, Democratic State Committeewoman for Polk. I think that I have been in touch with you before. I was campaign manager for Jeff Seimer who was a candidate for District 12 two years ago.
I couldn't agree with you more that we need to get Putnam out of office. In any other county but Polk, he would be vulnerable. Unfortunately, we have not been successful in finding some one who has the name and money to take him on. I wish that we did. I keep hoping that his arrogance and ego will be his downfall and believe that it will.
So, I'm stuck. I ask again for the KOS community to spread the word. Putnam needs a challenger. Problem is, this is a losing proposition (04 - Putnam won with 65% of this generally RED district). It's not pretty, not easy, and probably wouldn't wind up in a win.
All that said, if you have anyone in FL-12, please let them know!!
Thanks!