Pam Keith may not yet be declared in CD 18, but she’s campaigning

Democrat Pam Keith may not have yet declared or filed to run for Congress in Florida’s 18th Congressional District, but the former U.S. Senate candidate is organizing a staff and committee and preparing for a town hall meeting Thursday night.

Keith, a labor lawyer with a background as a U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General from Palm Beach Garden, said she still is exploring a candidacy to take on incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Mast of Palm City. The town hall meeting, set for Palm Beach Gardens, is an effort to test the waters, she said.

“Come meet the RIGHT person to oust Brian Mast (R FL 18) from Congress,” declares an internet advertisement paid for and presented by the Committee to Elect Pam Keith.

“I am moving quickly, assessing the feedback I get,” Keith said. “Tomorrow night will be another data point.”

That includes formation of the Committee to Elect Pam Keith.

Keith was a no-name, longshot candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in her first bid for for office, last year, behind sitting Congressmen with sizable campaign funds, networks of backers, and name recognition. She exploded into the party’s consciousness, however, with a fiery speech at a Democratic Party quarterly meeting in Orlando. And though she never raised money, she won some endorsements, including that of the Miami Herald, and attracted 173,000 votes statewide, finishing not far behind Alan Grayson as Patrick Murphy won the primary.