Florida politics is a chain of dominoes right now as everyone waits to see whether Sen. Marco Rubio will go forward with a run at the White House. Well, Politico reports that some insiders are saying South Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, might run for Senate if Rubio does put in a bid for the White House -- assuming Hillary Clinton does as well.
Naturally, Wasserman Schultz isn't commenting publicly, saying she's busy focusing on her own district. That district covers portions of southern Broward County and northern Miami Beach. However, the congresswoman has been in the headlines more often over the past four years as the at-times controversial chair of the DNC.
Insiders openly dish to Politico that because Wasserman Schultz is a proven fundraiser and one of the few Democratic powerhouses in the state, the idea of running for an open Senate seat in 2016 (assuming it is indeed open -- ahem, Marco) is becoming awfully tempting. With the possibility of Hillary Clinton running at the top of the ticket, insiders also note Democratic-leaning women could come out to the voting booths en masse.
Wasserman Schultz has long been rumored as a potential statewide candidate, but political talkers are always quick to make the same verdict: She's too liberal and has little appeal outside South Florida.
Granted, Democrats have run one moderate after another in statewide races only to see them fail to excite, and it's not like there are many Democrats sitting around who have existing statewide appeal. President Obama has also won Florida two presidential elections in a row, and his 2008 positions were decidedly to the left of Wasserman Schultz's career-long positions.
Still, after her four years as head of the DNC, right-wing media has successfully painted her as a wicked witch to its followers. Oddly, "off-the-record" attacks from Democrats also pop up like clockwork from time to time.
Naturally, Twitter groupthink didn't take kindly to the news.
Old "bad news comes in 3's" axiom all too true for FL Dems with Crist, Wasserman Schultz & Patrick Murphy. Yikes. http://t.co/PaPhNXN1iL
— Brad Dayspring (@BDayspring) February 17, 2015That'd be comedy gold. Comedy fool's gold. RT @politico: Debbie Wasserman Schultz is considering a 2016 Senate bid. http://t.co/Y7xGqMc9BZ
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) February 17, 2015Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz looking to run for Florida Senate seat off Hillary coattails?
— jamesb (@jamesbPDog) February 17, 2015I don't know if I should laugh or cry at this. RT @politico: Debbie Wasserman Schultz considering 2016 Senate bid http://t.co/6Hu2gxCWVB
— Austin Paul (@AustinPaul19) February 17, 2015Debbie Wasserman Schultz considering 2016 Senate bid http://t.co/6S2v651Rzz Great! She's awesome rep/pol & only so-so DNC chair.
— HotCoffeeAndPie (@hotcoffeeandpie) February 17, 2015Report: Top DNC Hack Debbie Wasserman Schultz Considering Senate Run...
— Donald Broom (@donaldbroom) February 17, 2015Absent for a search for Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Twitter: Much in the way of early support.
Of course, all these tweets are political junkies (with usually predetermined reactions to any news), and, as her detractors point out, she isn't that well known outside to voters of South Florida. She'll have over a year and a half to introduce herself, assuming she does through her hat into the ring.
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