According to Politico, Adam Putnam (Wingnut-FL), who had been the third-ranking Republican in the House before the 2008 elections, is stepping down to pursue office in the Sunshine State.
I guess being part of the permanent minority - even at the young age of 34 - doesn't hold much appeal. Apparently, the one-time GOP prodigy got tired of the partisanship in the House and was ostracized by his more conservative colleagues due to his support of the Wall Street bailout package last fall.
Has the GOP House caucus really moved that far to the Right to make Adam Putnam a moderate? If this is the case, doesn't it make any pursuit of bipartisanship in the lower house nearly impossible?
Putnam is the fourth House Republican to announce he won't seek re-election. The Central Florida district has a PVI of R+5. Putnam won with 58% of the vote last November. Wondering if this might be a pickup opportunity? from Josh Kraushaar at Politico:
Putnam’s Polk County-based district, by contrast, favors Republicans, but isn't out of reach for a credible Democratic candidate. There are more registered Democrats than Republicans within the district lines. And Obama ran competitively here, winning about 48 percent of the vote against John McCain.
On the Republican side, state Rep. Baxter Thompson, state Attorney Jerry Hill and former state Rep. Dennis Ross are potential candidates.
For the Democrats, former state senator Rick Dantzler and retired Naval officer Doug Tudor (who won 42 percent of the vote against Putnam last year) are expected to consider the race.