Tag: fl-19

Rep. Trey Radel (R, Florida-19) to resign, and not before time.

That was the freshman caught with cocaine:

Florida Rep. Trey Radel, a first-term Republican congressman who was convicted on cocaine possession charges, will resign from Congress on Monday.

Radel’s future in Congress had been in question following his guilty plea to misdemeanor cocaine possession after being arrested in Washington, D.C. in November, and a subsequent leave of absence from his official duties to attend rehab.

…the seat is not particularly in play.  Anymore. Mind you, if this was 2006 or 2008 I might be privately writing it off; cocaine possession may not be a sex scandal, but it’s not nothing, either.  But FL-19 is R+11 and Democratic recruitment this cycle is nothing to write home about. People should keep an eye on it, but they shouldn’t freak out.

Moe Lane

Breaking: Rep. Robert Wexler resigning from Congress.

[UPDATE]: Welcome, Instapundit readers.

Which is… interesting.  After all, FL-19 is a D+16 district.  On the other hand, his district includes parts of Boca Raton, which is another way of saying that there’s a lot of old people in his district.  Certainly his fellow-Democrat Ron Klein is facing a race next district over with Allen West.  But we’re not doing that well in the 2010 expectations game, surely?

Moving along, speculation is that Wexler’s up for the ambassadorship to Israel.  If true, this should infuriate progressives: while liberal, Wexler is also very strongly pro-Israel, not to mention involved with AIPAC.  Which might explain why the President would pick him for the slot – after all, the last thing that the USA needs right now is another foreign policy blunder.  That it’d be an affront to the netroots may be merely more lagniappe…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.