The Democrats' Red to Blue Committee and Florida

DENVER -- There's bad news and good news for Democratic congressional candidate Robert Neeld as he seeks to unseat Republican Connie Mack in Southwest Florida.

The bad news is, he won't be getting much help from the party. The good news, and it's not really good news so much as consolation, is he's not alone.

At Thursday's meeting of Florida Democrats at the party's national convention, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a member of the U.S. House and chairwoman of the party's national "Red to Blue" Committee, ticked off a list of a half-dozen Republicans in the U.S. House that Democrats believe they can beat in November.

Mack's name wasn't on the list.

The term Red to Blue refers to the political custom of showing areas that vote Republican and red and those that vote Democratic in blue. A goal of Florida Democrats is to turn what has been a red state in terms of presidential and congressional elections, blue.

The Red to Blue Committee will encourage donors, including representatives who aren't in close races themselves, to contribute to its identified candidates. Candidates also will be offered assistance in organizing their campaign, Beeton said.

While the list of Red to Blue seats is always subject to change, it currently stands at four names in Florida, Beeton said.

Mario Diaz-Balart, who represents eastern Collier County, is being challenged by Dade County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Garcia, one of the Red to Blue Committee's favored candidates.

Diaz-Balart's brother, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, is also opposed by a candidate backed by Red to Blue, former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez.

Sixteen Florida Republicans are seeking re-election to the U.S. House. Democrats now hold nine seats in the House. If they can beat all four Red to Blue targets plus win central Florida's District 15 seat in which Republican incumbent Dave Weldon is not running, the balance of the Florida House delegation would tip toward the Democrats.

(Brent Batten is a political columnist for the Naples Daily News in Florida.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)