DCCC points out John Mica’s weaknesses in redistricted CD 7

Under the newly drawn Congressional District 7 seat awaiting Florida Supreme Court approval, venerable north-central area GOP U.S. Rep. John Mica appears vulnerable for the first time in his 22-year-long congressional career.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is excited by that prospect.

In a memo released Tuesday by Jermaine House, DCCC’s south regional press secretary, it’s made clear that Florida’s 7th is now a battleground district. House writes that the redrawn district becomes 2 to 3 points more Democratic, and President Barack Obama carried the new district in 2008 with 51.6 percent of the vote, and tied Mitt Romney in 2012. .

Under the newly drawn lines, CD 7 now encompasses portions of East Orlando that includes more Latinos: They will now account for 20.6 percent of the new district, and African-Americans represent an additional 11.7 percent of the new district.

The DCCC says that some of Mica’s previous comments may not play so well in this new district, such as: “My state, in fact, has seen the impact of these deluges of illegals, and I call them semi-legal immigrants in Florida. Our hospitals and jails and schools are filled to capacity.”

The memo also highlights the fact that Mica has voted eight times to raise his own pay, accepting a 30 percent salary increase over his time in Congress. House writes that during the same time span, he’s voted for GOP measures that cut funding for Medicare, Pell Grant funding, and Social Security.

The DCCC also gleefully notes that in a new district that’s covered 100 percent by the Orlando media market, Mica could be challenged. “The cost of Orlando broadcast advertising is significant, and certainly requires fundraising at a pace far beyond what Mica has done thus far in 2015,” House writes.

 “Whether it’s appealing to a more Democratic electorate, defending his 20-year-old record in Washington, or raising funds consistent with competitive races across the country – one thing is clear: John Mica’s road to re-election won’t be easy this time around,” concludes the memo.

Bill Phil­lips, a former con­sult­ant for Nex­t­Gen Flor­ida, said last week that he’ll challenge Mica in 2016. Phil­lips is first vice pres­id­ent of busi­ness de­vel­op­ment at Am­al­gam­ated Bank.

Despite reports he might consider running in the much more favorable CD 6 seat in Florida being vacated by Ron DeSantis, Mica says he’s staying put.

“Dis­trict 7 is where my home is and it’s where I’ve lived for 43 years,” he said in a prepared statement last week. “I in­tend to con­tin­ue representing and am act­ively seek­ing re-elec­tion to only Dis­trict 7.”