Scandal Rocks Florida Race for the House

In an election year in which every seat counts, the Republicans now find it a bit harder to keep control of the House. (The democrats need a net 15 seat gain to regain power.) Last Friday, Florida Republican Congressman Mark Foley resigned after six terms amidst an Internet scandal. Click here for a brief synopsis of the story. (Pages are high school students who get to work with law makers in Washington.) Foley was, according to the Associated Press, considered a "shoo-in for re-election." Now the allegations are getting ugly. The democrats are using this scandal to their advantage, calling this "an election year cover up." Many are suggesting high ranking officials knew about this inappropriate behavior for quite some time and did nothing. The Republicans are holding on for dear life calling for an investigation and trying to do damage control.

Investigations into who knew what, when, will no doubt continue, but for now the Republicans have named a replacement candidate, Joe Negron. This is where the story gets really interesting. It is too late to print revised ballots so Foley's name will remain on the ballot as the Republican choice. Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, believes Negron can prevail no matter the circumstances. I have to think that Bush is being overly optimistic. When you go to vote, and see the name of a man who's done inappropriate things with children, would you honestly mark his name as your choice? Not only that, but Negron has, what, a MONTH to try to overcome talk of this scandal and gain recognition and respect as a viable candidate? I think that it would be hard enough for him to do so, but not even having his name communicated on the ballot makes it even more difficult.

Now the democratic candidate, Tim Mahoney, has begun running new television ads featuring Democratic Senator Bob Graham calling Mahoney someone who "believes in faith, family, and personal responsibility." Its no coincidence that these are the very values Foley has just shattered for the Republican party.

This is an interesting race all around. How far are the democrats willing to go, and just how much of this will they use to their advantage? Will the investigation into the Foley scandal reveal even more corruption than we think? Can Negron mount a legitimate campaign in such turmoil and such short notice? And ultimately, how will Floridians vote? Will they turn to the democrats in the face of scandal or will they vote republican even though the ballot will show that they are voting for a man who's acted innapropriately--with children no less? Only time will tell, but Negron certainly has a difficult month ahead.