Peter Schorsch
As the year of the outsider — think Donald Trump — political partisanship could very well be a casualty of the 2016 election cycle.
Take Congressman David Jolly, for example.
On Tuesday, the Pinellas County Republican is listed as the special guest for a “friend-raising” luncheon event for Justin Grabelle, who faces longtime U.S. Rep. Dan Webster in the race for Florida’s 11th Congressional District. Grabelle had served as chief of staff for Rep. Rich Nugent, whose seat he is now seeking with Nugent’s blessing.
While Webster is not running for re-election in his District 10 — redistricting took care of that, making it tough for him to squeeze out a win — Webster is still considered an incumbent Republican in Congress.
And that makes Jolly’s involvement, raising money against a Republican incumbent, somewhat of an oddity.
Also, Grabelle’s event is being held in Clearwater — Jolly’s home turf — another eyebrow-raiser.
While Trump takes up the GOP banner as its official presidential nominee, when it comes to strict down-ballot party fidelity, all bets seem to be off this year.
The event, hosted by Jim Holton and Brent Semler, is Tuesday, Aug. 9 beginning at noon at Café Ponte, 13505 Icot Blvd., Suite 214, in Clearwater. RSVP with Gretchen Picotte at 407-849-1112 or [email protected].
