Florida's 2nd District is exactly the kind of district House Democrats need to win in order to take back the House in 2014. At a PVI of R+6, there are only five House Democrats who represent districts more Republican than FL-02. Then again there aren't many Republicans sitting in marginal seats, so FL-02 is the kind of GOP-leaning "reach" district Democrats need to put in play. Hugging the Panhandle from Panama City to Tallahassee, the seat is covered by two fairly inexpensive media markets, and Blue Dog Democratic Rep. Allen Boyd held it as recently as 2010.
And, GOP Rep. Steve Southerland is exactly the kind of incumbent House Democrats need to beat. A funeral home owner who started the "Bay Patriots" tea party group before mounting an underdog campaign against Boyd in 2010, Southerland once appeared to complain about his $174,000 salary at a town hall meeting and was implicated along with other GOP freshmen in the infamous 2011 late night romp in the Sea of Galilee. Republican strategists perennially moan Southerland has also been one of the weakest
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