Jolly: 'This is going to be a 50-50 race'
(CNN) – As political observers keep a close eye on the U.S. House special election in Florida, the Republican nominee hoping to keep the district in GOP hands said people shouldn't draw too much from Tuesday night's results.
"This is a local race. There are local issues in this race, it comes down to local representation," David Jolly told CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.
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Outside spending groups, including the Democratic and Republican campaign arms for the House, have spent nearly $9 million on this race, making it the most expensive contest yet of the cycle. The massive spending sum indicates huge interest in the race.
The winner will fill a vacancy left by the late Rep. Bill Young, who was in his 22nd term when he passed away in October. But this race is only to fill the remainder of Young's term. Whoever wins will be up for re-election again in November.
The contest, which falls in a swing district in a swing state, marks the first big race ahead of this year's midterm elections. Both sides are watching carefully to see which messages do well among voters.
Jolly and his allies have been pushing a strong anti-Obamacare campaign, while his opponent, Democrat Alex Sink, is defending the health care law. For her part, she's trying to frame the Republican platform as threatening for Social Security-a message that resonates in a district with large swaths of seniors.
Sink called entitlement programs "an American promise" and said "those programs were put in place for a good reason, and I'm going to fight to protect the integrity of the Social Security and Medicare programs for all of us."
As for any national implications, Jolly told Bash that if anything, "the view of government is being tested, the President's view versus ours."
"But at the end of the day, we know that this is going to be a 50-50 race," he also said. "I think we should all be careful to draw too much from this race."
CNN's Deirdre Walsh and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
"I'd really love to know why my question was juvenile because, to me, there is nothing more juvenile and naïve than to believe that politicians care about the average American."
Are you suggesting we not vote, tom?
The GOP performs an "autopsy" that does a spot on job of detailing the GOP shortcomings, and then denies it is the message, just the messenger.
So, I am voting for "delusional", and this "dimorat", hopes it is not drug induced, but is permanent.
P.S. Keep bashing HRC, and the GOP will lose 75% of the XX vote in 2016.
rs, wrote: What "stolen" elections? 63 cases of individual voter fraud in 10 years nationwide. Compare those 63 votes (that affected zero races) " so you call Al Frankenstein win with 870 fraudulent votes legit, or just not important.
Also if you have not voted before 2008, where you not old enough or just didn't care.
Tampa Tim
It has to hurt baggers that Obama is ranked in the top 15 best presidents, and W Bush is ranked as one of the worst.
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Quite so. The GOP have has two Presidents who have proven the old axiom that "in America, anyone can grow up to be President"- Saint Reagan, and GW.
"The differences that matter are who they work for.
No wonder you marvel at and trumpet something as banal as one of Ms. Palin's occasionally accurate statement."
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Actually, all I wanted to do with Mrs. Palin's comment was get someone to just admit that she was right and it just wasn't possible. The flip was to see if you would actually admit that Obama was wrong and you couldn't do that either. As far as your "the differences that matter are who they work for". Wow, never have I read a more naïve comment than that. The dems work for themselves to be reelected. Period.
And there is nothing funnier than a democrat using the term sanctimonious to describe anyone. Now THAT is hilarious. The really odd thing is comments directed towards me like yours. I am far from sanctimonious. Not only that, the vitriol that comes my way from people like you is even though I agree with you on most social issues, if not all. Yet when I ask a pretty simple question this is the response I get from you. I think the biggest difference is that I am just aware that none of the politicians works for us...I don't believe in fairy tales nor unicorns. I believe in reality.
@Malory-I wish I could have kept my crappy plan where I was only paying 30% of medical expenses and 10$ for pharmacy costs with no deductible. My plan under the ACA is the same monthly premuim as my old plan, but I now pay 60% of medical expenses and full price for pharmacy costs until I reach a 5000$ deductible. Thank god I have the VA or I`d spend out the ying-yang for a flu shot.
@rs
"This is the big discovery? "
Yes, one of the unfortunate and utter buzz kills of coming to this forum is seeing the everyday discoveries of tom I; and then the eventual and abrupt dissonance and almost immediate dismissal of any actual facts which do not fit into his narrow and self created little reality, where he is King Reasonable and everyone else is liars, confused idiots, or dismissed for not not falling immediately into line with his hannity/rand talking points or his most recent cherry picked google search