Here’s a race that you don’t see polled every day.
Anzalone-Liszt for Bob Hackworth (9/7-11, likely voters):
Bob Hackworth (D): 33
C.W. “Bill” Young (R-inc): 50
(MoE: ±4.4%)
This is a D+1 district that Young has held since 1971. Despite occupying a district that voted for Bill Clinton twice, and Al Gore by a slim margin in 2000, Young has regularly won re-election by overwhelming margins. In fact, he weakest showing in his long career was in 1992, when he scored “only” 57% of the vote (the lone time his winning percentage slipped below 60). If this poll is any indication, it looks like he may slip below 60 once again.
Up the ballot, Obama held a 46-40 lead over McCain in this district when this poll was conducted (which, I’ll note, was well before the recent Florida surge for Obama). On the generic ballot, Dems hold a 42-34 lead over the GOP, and the undecideds in the congressional contest tilt Dem in their general preferences. While it looks like the general Democratic performance is shaping up to be stronger here than in 2004 (when Kerry lost the district by 49-51), it would probably require a big, big wave to carry Dunedin Mayor Bob Hackworth over the line in this contest.
The full polling memo is available below the fold.
Al Gore won this district by 1.6%. That’s down from the 9% he won the district as configured in 2000. W won it by 2.4 in 2004.
This is a district that is rapidly slipping away from the Republicans, apparently.
Young isn’t very popular, is super corrupt and is in a Democratic district.
And yet we always fail to field a real candidate against him.
Ive got plenty of friends as it is…
Young’s got this seat since 71 till he croaks, which may not be all that far off. Of Course, the RNC has more than prepped his 2nd wife to run, but like SOOOO MANY traditional family values Republicans, Billy Young was sleeping with his Congressional Secretary who became the new wifey… They had two more kids, who have gotten plum “govt affairs” type jobs with govt contractors, and at least the youngest pup zests for Papa’s seat. Klassy Billy, Klassy! Dont even get me started on the two pups tangles with the local law “do you know who my Pawpaw is?”
EARMARKS??? You Say??? This crusty old Rbag is literally the King of em… the stop and go sign from the Approp Committee as far as who gets what. An Earmark doesnt move without his rubberstamp.
Again, this seat will go down as one of the classic DCCC misses as far as candidate recruitment and funding. How long do we let Florida continue to fuck shit up on every level?
If its a real big night(I mean a 50+ seat gain the House), this is the kind of race I could see going our way. That said, this seat should be ours when Young retires. Republicans tried to make the seat more Republican in 2001, but demographics are catching up to them fast.