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March: Little-known U.S. Senate candidate getting her name out

 
Published Oct. 9, 2015

Pam Keith managed to snag a few votes from her better-known opponents during an appearance at the Hillsborough County Democratic Women's Club in Tampa on Monday night.

"Pam who?" many are probably asking.

She hopes to change that.

Keith is a political newcomer running for the Senate, in a Democratic primary against Reps. Patrick Murphy and Alan Grayson.

She's got a lot going for her: a former corporate attorney, Navy veteran, minority woman running against two white males, and an outsider in a year of dissatisfaction with the political establishment.

But odds are long against an unknown in an expensive statewide race.

Her credentials back up her self-description as a business-friendly, pro-defense Democrat, but her stump speech includes strong liberal stands on gun control, abortion rights and pay equity for women, and taxing capital gains to shore up Social Security.

"We've got to have candidates that reflect our country, who reflect our party," she told the crowd, about two dozen, sipping coffee and iced tea in a N Dale Mabry hotel dining room. "If we're the big-tent party, with all the flavors in it, then we've got to have all those flavors in our leadership."

Her opponents sit at the opposite ends of the Democratic ideological spectrum — Grayson a liberal firebrand and Patrick Murphy a conservative former Republican. Local Dems say Hillsborough probably leans toward Murphy.

Keith's outsider appeal seemed to work with the Grayson backers in the room, who compared her to Elizabeth Warren.

"She's refreshing," said Marie Hornbrook of Tampa. "She got a convert."

But Tampa political consultant Ana Cruz added perspective: "People need to know who you are. To make even a 2- or 3-point difference in a statewide race takes a tremendous amount of money and time."

Sink involved in Pinellas' Dems fundraising initiative

Alex Sink, along with public relations executive Tom Hall, is setting up a fundraising initiative to benefit the Hillsborough County Democratic Party, and she and Pinellas Democratic Chairman Susan McGrath hope to do the same thing in Pinellas.

In Hillsborough, Sink and Hall are recruiting members for a financial support group of high-dollar donors to revive the languishing party organization. They hope to raise $100,000 a year for the party.

In Pinellas, Democrats have fared better in recent elections. They now hold a majority on the county commission and all but one seat on the St. Petersburg City Council, plus the mayor's office, McGrath noted.

"That's why we have a partner of the level of Alex Sink — she sees the potential," McGrath said.

She said there's no fundraising goal, but that she and Sink are committed to work on the project to recruit support from "people who have the resources to support the party and see the value of what we're doing."

Sink has remained active in Pinellas Democratic politics despite losing in a 2013 special election for the county's congressional seat.

Senate districts to cross bay after all?

State Rep. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, says she's hearing Republican legislators may argue that the court decisions saying congressional districts shouldn't cross Tampa Bay may not necessarily apply to the Senate districts, which the Legislature is about to redraw.

If that argument prevailed, the district held by term-limited Sen. Arthenia Joyner of Tampa, designed to allow election of a black candidate, could continue to go across the bay to take in parts of St. Petersburg. That could prevent a potential primary battle between Sens. Jeff Brandes and Jack Latvala.

Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Betty Reed of Tampa and Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg have already filed to replace Joyner, setting up a possible cross-bay rivalry, but Rousson has hinted he'll drop back to a Pinellas race if the Joyner district is confined to Hillsborough County.

In that case, Democratic insiders are saying, Rep. Ed Narain of Tampa could be interested in the Senate seat.

Narain didn't want to discuss it. Like many legislators, he fears commenting about political plans because of legal prohibitions against considering political advantage in drawing the maps.

"I'm flattered," he said. "But we have to be mindful of talking about political intent. It would be premature for anybody to comment on how the sen maps will be drawn."

Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, confirmed the argument could be made that Joyner's district should continue to cross the bay, even though court rulings say U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor's shouldn't.

Joyner's district "has actually functioned as a minority access district," unlike Castor's, in repeatedly electing black senators, he said. "It will be viewed differently by the lawyers. It's really a very valid legal question."

Contact William March at wemarch@gmail.com.