Who’ll replace Aronberg in Senate?
by George Bennett | June 4th, 2009
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- Sen. Aronberg (D): running for AG
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- Rep. Abruzzo (D): NOT running for Senate
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- Lizbeth Benacquisto (R) will run
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- Sharon Merchant (R) “highly likely” to run
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- Pete Burkert (D) “pretty certain” to run
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- Jim Burch (D) mentioned by Dems
The district is about 40 percent Democratic and 36 percent Republican. About 54 percent of voters live in Palm Beach County and about 45 percent live in Lee County, with a handful of voters in Charlotte, Glades and Hendry counties.
When handicapping primaries, keep in mind that most of the district’s Republicans live in Lee County and most of the Democrats live in Palm Beach.
So far, Wellington Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto (R) says she’s running, former state Rep. Sharon Merchant (R) and Fort Myers lawyer Peter Burkert (D) say they’ll probably run and Cape Coral Mayor Jim Burch (D) has been mentioned but couldn’t be reached today for comment.
Tags: Jim Burch, Lizbeth Benacquisto, Peter Burkert, Sharon Merchant
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June 4th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Gelber’s heroic and selfless profile in courage:droppng outta race after another dem gets way more $ and endrsmnts & star GOP gov gets in9:31 AM Jun 1st from web http://twitter.com/adamsmithtimes
June 5th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Why is Sharon Merchant considering running for District 27? She lost in 2002 and has been absent since then. She doesn’t live in the district and has not been involved in our issues.
If she runs it’s a case of raw political opportunism.
Unfortunately, you can expect her to introduce gutter campaign tactics to this race as she did in her campaign against Ken Pruitt. In my eyes, her tactics in that race bordered on the criminal.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I heard and met Merchant in 02. She came across as brash and a know-it-all. We Republicans in the western part of District 27 are either homegrown or come from the midwest (Go Wolverines!!)and therefore don’t go for the aggressive type of politicians you have in Palm Beach. I have, however, heard good things about Benacquisto who’s been making the rounds here.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Benacquisto is 101% genuine. I’m a 15 year resident of Wellington, and since she’s been in office, I’ve watched her work tirelessly for Wellington. She’s a great listener and never seems to rush to judgement. She has the smarts and energy to be a GREAT state senator. I’m not even Republican, but I’d give her my vote in a heartbeat.