The last time a Democrat represented Florida District 12 was in the 1980's, but Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards, running for Adam Putnam's open seat, is in a great position to flip a red seat to blue.
Republicans are in panic mode.
"Hi, this is Newt Gingrich...Florida Democrats have created a fake Tea political party to split our conservative vote and keep (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi in power.
"The liberals' fake Tea Party candidate for your district is Randy Wilkinson.
"Don't be fooled by Wilkinson's Tea Party label. Wilkinson is connected to liberal Congressman Allan Grayson's Tea political party."
District 12 is mostly Polk County which is east of Tampa on the south side of the I-4 corridor.
Dennis Ross is the GOP nominee, a former State Legislator, he is the establishment backed Republican in the race. Endorsed by Newt Gingrich, Ross was once widely expected to cruise to victory in this conservative district.
Polk County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson is a raging Christian teahadist beloved by many on the right for having totally pwnd the heathens by hiring lawyers to craft a monument featuring the ten commandments and then hiring more lawyers to have the donated work installed in a public building.
As Gingrich's robo call infers, Wilkinson is running under the banner of an actual registered political party called the Florida Tea Party. There is no real evidence that Alan Grayson is backing the Florida Tea Party, but the possibility has spawned breathless conspiracy warnings from Tallahassee to NYC.
Regardless of any smart political shenanigans that Grayson may or may not be involved in, the three way nature of this race has turned a safe Republican seat into a real pickup opportunity.
Political experts say it's possible Tea Party candidate Randy Wilkinson could spoil the victory party of Republican Dennis Ross by getting enough votes to steer the election to Edwards.
Ross, a former state representative from Lakeland, has long been considered the frontrunner in his 12th Congressional District race against Edwards, Polk elections supervisor from Winter Haven, and Wilkinson, a county commissioner from Bartow.
But some of the numbers may not add up for Ross.
Democrats in the district's elections have been pounded in recent years.
But two years ago, Doug Tudor, a relative unknown, managed 42 percent against powerhouse incumbent Adam Putnam, R-Bartow.
Bruce Anderson, a political science professor at Florida Southern College, said if Wilkinson gets more than 15 percent of the Nov. 2 vote, it spells trouble for Ross.
"I think 16 dooms him," Anderson said.
The only poll available for this race is from GOP candidate Ross showing Ross leading Edwards 40-31 with Wilkinson pulling in 18 percent. This is an internal poll and should be taken with many grains of salt - no other polls are available for comparison, and most observers see a MUCH closer race, and, as pointed out above, anything close to 20 percent for Wilkinson spells trouble fro Ross.
Political unknown Doug Tudor got 42 percent against a powerful incumbent in a two way race. Democrat Lori Edwards is the popular sitting Elections Supervisor and a former State legislator running in a three way race that includes an actual Tea Party candidate who is himself well known and popular amongst the GOP base.
Because the Florida Tea PArty is a real party, The word TEA will appear right next to Wilkinson's name on the ballot, just like REP and DEM will be next to the other candidates' names. This is awesome.
Lori Edwards and FL-12 could be a big story on November 2, but she needs our help to make it happen.
This race is really going to come down to the Dem GOTV effort. If you live in or near FL 12, Lori Edwards and the Polk Dems will welcome your support. Call and offer it. Now.
Lori Edwards' ActBlue page.
Call Out the Vote with DailyKos.