Every time it seems things can't get any worse for Democrats in Florida's 13th CD, they do. First, Alex Sink lost the high-profile March 11 special election to GOP Rep. David Jolly, 49 percent to 47 percent. Then, both Sink and 2012 Democratic nominee attorney Jessica Ehrlich declined a run against Jolly this November. But what happened this past week was perhaps the most embarrassing episode of all.
Democrats had worked behind the scenes to keep African-American St. Petersburg minister Manuel Sykes from filing as a Democrat to clear the field for Marine and former police officer Ed Jany, who would have needed to run without a party affiliation because he hadn't met Florida's party registration rules. Winning a campaign as a non-major party candidate would have been next to impossible, but it represented Democrats' last-ditch hope.
On Tuesday, however, even that plan went out the window. Call it the curse of Florida's 13th: several days after a Tampa Bay Times article poked large holes in Jany's resume, Jany dropped out of the race, leaving Democrats without a candidate entirely.
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