Will FL-13 Bring Trouble for Pelosi
Speaker-elect Pelosi's pledge of bipartisanship may get an early challenge when Congress convenes next month. That's when she'll have decide whether or not to intervene in the Florida District 13 election mess.
(Bradenton Herald) When the Democratic-controlled Congress convenes in January, Pelosi might be faced with a decision on whether to seek to deny certified Republican winner Vern Buchanan from taking his seat.
Buchanan was declared the winner by 369 votes. But Democrat Christine Jennings has gone to court seeking a new election, asserting that the electronic voting machines malfunctioned. A court hearing is set for Tuesday. And Jennings plans to file papers with the House by Wednesday's deadline contesting the election results and seeking to block Buchanan from taking the oath of office in early January.
Republicans are preparing for battle.
Republicans have made clear they would view a Pelosi embrace of Jennings' challenge as a call to arms.
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said Friday that if Democrats attempt to prevent Buchanan from taking the seat, it would be a "poisoning of the well by depth charge."
"This is a first major test for Nancy Pelosi," added Ed Patru, a spokesman for the House Republican Conference. "Will she side with the voters of the 13th district? . . . Or will she make a blatant partisan power grab?"
As usual, we'll keep our eye on this issue and keep you up-to-date with any developments.
1 comment:
A lot of us down here in Sarasota know people that had trouble voting. I mean, thousands of people had a problem and left the polling places to go tell their friends about it. We know something went wrong. Hell, that's what Tramm Hudson was trying to tell Jeb in that email from right after the election.
A lot of Sarasota Republicans (including the head of the county NAACP) are openly saying a revote's necessary. Besides, Vern spent like $6 million of his own money on the election, so we know he can afford to compete in a special election and won't have to worry about fundraising. So there's already a big advantage he'd have in a rematch, and winning a revote means a big, big advantage come the '08 elections.
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