Blue Dogs back Margaret Good in challenge against Vern Buchanan

State Rep. Margaret Good

Sarasota Democrat Margaret Good picked up a major endorsement from the moderate Blue Dog Coalition.

As Good challenges seven-term incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, she said the endorsement shows her as the fiscally conservative choice.

“Elected officials are the stewards of the funds of the American people,” Good said. “It is our job to make responsible decisions about how our tax dollars are spent.

“We are now facing a $22 trillion federal deficit, which threatens the strength of our economy. We need fiscally responsible representatives who are committed to balancing our budget. I commit to prioritizing balancing our budget and ensuring our taxpayer dollars are used to address our most pressing needs,”

This marks the first endorsement issued by the Blue Dogs during the 2020 election cycle, a sign of the growing national excitement over Good’s candidate, her team said.

The move also seems especially notable considering U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, an Orlando Democrat, was tapped last year as chair for the Blue Dogs.

It’s an aggressive move to back a challenger to any incumbent, but the Murphy-led group just backed the Democrat seeking to unseat Buchanan, co-chair of Florida’s Congressional Delegation.

The reason?

“Margaret Good has a strong bipartisan record of getting things done, and Congress could use more people like her who are willing to put results over rhetoric,” Murphy said.

“I’m incredibly proud to endorse Margaret for Congress, and I’m even more excited she will join the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of pragmatic Democrats who fight for fiscal responsibility and a strong national security. Margaret will help end the partisan politics that hurt working families and will be a strong voice for Central Florida — finding commonsense solutions to our most challenging problems.”

Of course, Buchanan has long presented himself as a fiscal hawk, and has championed a Balanced Budget Amendment. But Good’s team scoffs at that as empty rhetoric, noting Buchanan has voted over 13 years for budgets increasing the national debt.