FL-02: Lawson Will Run

State Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson is now making it known that he will indeed challenge Rep. Allen Boyd in the 2010 Democratic primary:

Lawson, an insurance agent who has represented Tallahassee in the Legislature since 1982, said today he intends next year to take on Congressman Allen Boyd, a Democrat from Monticello.

The primary will be bruising, with the nation’s economic crisis front and center. […]

Lawson has come out of the gate swinging, accusing Boyd of forgetting his struggling constituents.

Boyd voted in favor of a $700 billion taxpayer rescue of the nation’s troubled financial industry that was first proposed by former President George W. Bush. Boyd joined most Republicans in Congress in voting against a more than $800 billion economic stimulus package being pushed hard by the new administration of President Barack Obama.

Congress is still negotiating a final package.

“He’s putting Wall Street ahead of Main Street, and there’s something wrong with that,” Lawson said. “Most of that district is rural and the people need help.”

Before you get too excited, though, let’s not forget that Lawson “almost” endorsed Charlie Crist in 2006 — not exactly the behavior of a progressive firebrand.

(Hat-tip: The Briefing Room)

59 thoughts on “FL-02: Lawson Will Run”

  1. Even if he loses the primary, and he’s being term limited in the Legislature, he can always go back to insurance. I hear that business is still staying steady despite the economic downturn.

  3. even as a Democrat. This is an ancestrally democratic district like its northern neigbhor in GA-2 held by Sanford Bishop, though it has more white residents.

    What is Lawson’s record locally? is he considered a good legislator and popular in the district? If so and he is able to position himself as an economicaly moderate yet socially conservative Dem, he may be able to win the general.

    The difficulty is holding heavily GOP Bay County, which is the 2nd largest county wholly within the district but which Lawson doesn’t currently represent. Sure Obama lost the district but on the local level, it is still pretty Democratic; unlike Jeff Miller’s FL-1, which abandoned its democratic roots when Barry Goldwater won it in a landslide (almost enough to take FL from LBJ).  

  4. This is the kind of district that once it opens up, it will be gone for Democrats, unless its a really good Dem year(probably the reason why we held AL-05).  McCain won here 54%-45% after Bush won 54%-46% in 2004.  Outside of the three Tallahassee based counties, this district is deep red and in some places McCain got around 80% of the vote.  

  5. if Charlie Crist ran against Boyd as a Democrat, I’d probably support him. At least Crist supports the stimulus.

    Lawson is not going to be some amazing progressive guy, but he’s not going to be a pro-Bad SSP, anti-jobs hardcore Blue Dog either. And that’s all I care about, if he puts together a solid campaign and shows that he will run a real race I intend to actively support him.  

  7. This is a bad primary challenge.  Lawson isn’t even much to the left of Boyd and he’d almost certainly lose (probably big) to any credible republican in a general election.  

  9. That may have more to do with the Obama visit though.  In any case, the stimulus lost previous supporter Pete DeFazio so that should tell you who thinks this version is better and worse.

  10. Lawson is African-American.  (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/2/11/194755/424/286/696377)

    That seems to bode well for him in a primary if the district has a large AA population (anyone able to look that up?)  But at the same time, in the general, with this being the Florida panhandle, not be a plus for us.  DK reports that the district underperformed for Obama compared to Kerry/Gore.  Not good.

    I’m supporting Boyd.  That way we keep the seat.  Why chance it.  Although primarying him to scare him is pretty nice vote wise.

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