The District 13 race between Jan Schneider and Christine Jennings is a classic case of the netroots v. the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Scheider's campaign is poorly organized. She is forced to run an online petition so she can "qualify" for the race. If not, she will have to pay $10,000 to get on the ballot.
Wayne Garcia reported that Jennings has the support of John Kerry and Barbara Boxer. Jennings is killing Scheider in fundraising. Jenning has raised $402,428. Scheider has raised $69,364. Nearly half of which is spent. Scheider has the backing of Daily Kos, My DD and Joe Trippi. It's all for nought.
Even if Scheider beats Jennings in the primary, which is unlikely, she will lose in the general election. She has already lost the District 13 race twice. The district leans red. Katherine Harris has won the district twice. That gives progressives an idea of how hard winning that seat is for a Democrat. It would be evenly more unlikely for a Democrat who can't raise campaign money.
My concern is the netroots will turn on Jennings when she wins the primary. That would be a mistake. I am more than happy to support Scheider if she wins the primary. What is likely to happen is that lefties fight amongst themselves and the seat stays Republican. The netroots screws itself and the Florida GOP wins again. We need to stop making elections about voting the coolest kid to student council and start working together.
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