As Promised: Thoughts on the 2010 Agriculture Commissioner Race

Just a few days late, but as promised, here are a few thoughts on the race as it stands now.

The only serious candidate (Democrat or Republican) is Republican Congressman, formerly 3rd in the House leadership, Adam Putnam from the Bartow area. That's it. No one else is running.

So, it begs the question, what are the Democrats doing and what should they be doing in this way, way down the ballot race? Well, for starters, will a candidate please stand up?

I don't know if any of our readers, presumably of the liberal persuasion, attended his announcement, but the dude ain't just running for Ag Commis. He's got bigger fish to fry and this whole retiring from the House is one step in a series that he sees as taking him to 1600. And, he's good too. I'm a lifelong Democrat, but I even found myself smiling and enjoying parts of what he was saying. Adam Putnam is a darn good politician and probably even someone you'd want to get a beer with.

But, this is politics, baby, and letting someone like that go unchallenged is just silly. There are a lot of good Ds from farm areas- and I'm not even just pinning all my hopes and dreams on Debbie Boyd (though, if you're reading, please run!). Letting Adam Putnam go unchecked, walk to victory in this race will make it that much harder for us when he decides to run for governor, which he will do eventually.  The guy isn't squeaky clean; there's some serious dirt on him. No one gets out of Washington clean as a whistle. Let's stop him now, instead of waiting until he's already been elected statewide.

I understand everyone's sentiment that the Democrats shouldn't put tons of money into the race, but we can't just roll over and play dead either.