Florida Democratic Progressives want Alan Grayson in U.S. Senate bid

While South Florida Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy gathered statewide attention Monday by declaring his candidacy for Marco Rubio‘s  U.S. Senate seat, the liberal wing of the Democratic Party wasn’t part of the cheering section.

The Progressive Democratic Caucus announced Monday morning that a recent informal survey it took showed Orlando area Congressman Alan Grayson to be its pick for a U.S. Senate nomination bid, taking 63 percent of the vote . Other Democrats receiving a “significant number of votes” including Miami state Sen. Dwight Bullard, Tampa-area Congresswoman Kathy Castor, and Congressman Ted Deutch, who represents parts of Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

“Leadership matters, especially now when issues such as climate change and income inequality are affecting Florida voters,” Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Susan Smith wrote in a press release. “As this vote indicates, Progressives are clearly looking for a bold champion who will inspire and engage voters. We can’t afford to run former Republicans or corporate Democrats who consider themselves ‘centrists’ but who are really ‘Republican lite.’ If we do that, we lose.”

When asked to comment, Smith said that neither Murphy nor Tallahassee-area Congresswoman Gwen Graham fit the qualifications of what progressives are looking for in a candidate.

“We don’t have the luxury of putting up candidates who don’t know how to fight for their constituents,” Smith said her statement. “Grayson is known as the ‘Congressman with guts’ for a reason. He is a proven leader that the DPCF would be proud to support in the 2016 Senate race.”

Although conventional wisdom has it that Murphy’s centrism will trump Grayson’s firebrand liberalism in a general election, the dynamics in a Democratic Party primary will be quite different. Although the progressive caucus got no traction backing Nan Rich for governor last year, Grayson is independently wealthy and has a nationwide group of donors.

“There’s a real dramatic difference between myself and other candidates in terms of actual accomplishments,” Grayson boasted to The Hill in February. He told the website  he has passed 31 amendments in the past two years, and had 15 of his bills incorporated into laws that were signed by President Barack Obama. “I’m not going to single out anybody in particular, but the fact is, I’m not just a progressive Democrat, but a progressive Democrat who has demonstrated how to get things done in a difficult political environment here. Slate magazine called me the most effective member of Congress, and that puts me in a fundamentally different position than other potential candidates, whether we’re talking about Patrick or Gwen.”

Smith wanted to emphasize that her group is not endorsing Grayson, or anyone else for Senate at the moment. “We would like to see a good, vibrant primary. We think that’s good for the Democratic Party.”