The Devil was famously beaten by Daniel Webster. He persuaded a jury from hell. A new Dan Webster was also persuasive against another Devil!
Dan Webster beats Alan Grayson in a landslide
Democrat U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson — at the same time loved and hated by partisans across the country — was ousted from Congress on Tuesday by Dan Webster, a quiet conservative known to Central Florida voters after nearly three decades in the Legislature.
With 99 percent of precincts counted, Webster had 56 percent of the vote to Grayson's 38 percent.
The victory put a Republican back in Florida's 8th District, which had sent Republicans to the House for the past 26 years until Grayson was elected in 2008. It also adds another win to the GOP wave of victories across the country, and ends Grayson's tenure in Congress after a single, two-year term.
Webster credited the results to his grass-roots support and his decision to run a positive campaign....
With 99 percent of precincts counted, Webster had 56 percent of the vote to Grayson's 38 percent.
The victory put a Republican back in Florida's 8th District, which had sent Republicans to the House for the past 26 years until Grayson was elected in 2008. It also adds another win to the GOP wave of victories across the country, and ends Grayson's tenure in Congress after a single, two-year term.
Webster credited the results to his grass-roots support and his decision to run a positive campaign....
The race drew national attention because of Grayson's bombast. When he said on the House floor that the GOP health care plan was to "die quickly," Republicans took note, and Grayson became a proxy for the bigger ideological war between the Democratic and Republican parties. Prominent conservatives, including Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and GOP chairman Michael Steele, roused the Republican base for Webster.
For his part, Grayson launched plenty of attack ads of his own. A TV spot that labeled his opponent "Taliban Dan" was widely criticized, giving Webster an unexpected shot of national exposure and a boost in fund-raising.
The race had been dogged by accusations that Grayson conspired with local political consultant Doug Guetzloe to create the FloridaTea Party so its candidate, Peg Dunmire, would sap conservative votes away from Webster. Grayson and Dunmire have repeatedly denied any collusion.
Dunmire drew less than 4 percent of the vote — not enough to change the race's outcome. A fourth candidate, independent George Metcalfe of Eustis, got 1.9 percent.
Webster rarely responded to Grayson's attacks, even refusing to debate because he said he couldn't stand to share a stage with his opponent.
Instead, he stuck to the issues worrying the Republican base: federal spending and borrowing.
The race had been dogged by accusations that Grayson conspired with local political consultant Doug Guetzloe to create the FloridaTea Party so its candidate, Peg Dunmire, would sap conservative votes away from Webster. Grayson and Dunmire have repeatedly denied any collusion.
Dunmire drew less than 4 percent of the vote — not enough to change the race's outcome. A fourth candidate, independent George Metcalfe of Eustis, got 1.9 percent.
Webster rarely responded to Grayson's attacks, even refusing to debate because he said he couldn't stand to share a stage with his opponent.
Instead, he stuck to the issues worrying the Republican base: federal spending and borrowing.
...oth campaigns had aggressive voter-contact armies, who knocked on doors and manned phone banks. Grayson's get-out-the-vote operation was bigger and had been in place for more than a year.
Grayson also held a wide lead in campaign cash. The wealthy attorney largely self-funded his 2008 campaign, but this time brought in $5.1 million in contributions from around the country, compared with Webster's $1.3 million.
By mid-October, the most recent reporting deadline, Grayson had spent $3.8 million and Webster $977,000 — though both campaigns have spent heavily on TV ads and voter-contact activities in the final days of the election.
Mark Schlueb can be reached at mschlueb@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5417.
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