Not Staying Put-Nam
In a move that's widely been expected, Politico is reporting that Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL 12) will give up his seat to run for FL AG in '10. Since Putnam stepped down as GOP Conference Chair after the '08 election, his retirement has been expected.
But while his CD looks safe for the GOP -- Pres. Bush took 58% here in '04, and Putnam's never been seriously challenged -- holding it in '10 may present some difficulty for the party. SwingStateProject, a left-leaning website that tracks House races, estimates that Pres. Obama took 48% here. That's a 6% bump from John Kerry's performance in '04.
Of course, for Dems to have a chance, they'll need to recruit a candidate that matches the GOP-leaning CD. And if moderate ex-state Sen./'98 LG candidate Rick Dantzler runs, they may have that candidate. But it's been 10 years since he ran (his ticket ran against ex-Gov. Jeb Bush's (R) and lost, 55-45%), so the value of his name ID in this race is questionable.
The Lakeland Ledger also reports that state Rep. Seth McKeel (R) -- a close friend of Putnam's -- had been considered the most likely candidate to run, but the birth of his child has has him leaning toward staying in the legislature. Other GOPers that are mentioned include state Sen. Paula Dockery (R) and state Rep. Dennis Ross (R).
Putnam is the fifth House GOPer to announce his retirement. Reps. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI 02), Zach Wamp (R-TN 03), Jerry Moran (R-KS 01) and Todd Tiahrt (R-KS 04) have also announced they won't run for re-election in '10.
(TIM SAHD)
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