TPMDC

Big-Name GOPer Running Against Grayson — Six Months After He Previously Opted Out Of Race

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Republicans have landed a top-tier candidate candidate to run against Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the fiery liberal best known for his over-the-top comedic insults against the Republicans. But before this new candidate, former state Sen. Dan Webster, can take on Grayson, he’ll first have to make it through a crowded Republican primary — which is itself full of candidates who got in when they thought Webster wasn’t running.

Webster announced in October 2009 that he would not run, declaring at the time: “When in doubt, don’t.” Six months later, he enters the race saying that his family had previously not been united on the idea of running, but now are behind him.

Webster has the endorsements of former Gov. Jeb Bush and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. He must still run in a Republican primary against businessman Bruce O’Donoghue, state Rep. Kurt Kelly and others who might not have run if Webster had gotten in six months ago.

2010 elections, Alan Grayson, Dan Webster, FL-08, FL-SEN, House '10
Eric Kleefeld

Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Senior Associate Editor

Paul Werdel

Associate Editor

Sara Libby

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Carl Franzen

Sahil Kapur

Eric Kleefeld

Eric Lach

Nick Martin

Evan McMorris-Santoro

Ryan J. Reilly

Benjy Sarlin

Front Page Editor

David Taintor

Poll Editor

Kyle Leighton

News Writer

Pema Levy

Video Editor

Michael Lester

Polling Fellow

Tom Kludt

Video Fellow

Clayton Ashley

Publishing Fellow

Christopher O’Driscoll

Research Interns

Michael Brooks

Publishing Intern

Miles Read

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Mary Cadwallader

Bob Edmunds

Bruce Ellerstein

Waldo Tibbetts

Manager, Ad Operations and Sales Support

Versha Sharma

Deputy Publisher

Callie Schweitzer

Director of Technology

Eric Buth

Designer/Developer

Ni Mu

Matthew Wozniak

Tech Fellow

Dennis Cahillane