Republican Connie Mack Serious Threat to Defeat Democrat Bill Nelson in Florida

Assuming Florida Senator Marco Rubio doesn't vacate his seat to be the VP nominee, a Connie Mack victory over Bill Nelson next November could give that state the best 1-2 conservative punch in the nation. Of all potential Republican candidates, Mack - at least so far - has the best chance of beating Nelson. He's young, he's been a congressman for a few terms, and he's a Tea Party favorite. If you remember, he's also the guy who came up with the 'Penny Plan' during the Debt Ceiling debate. It was, by far and away, the best idea for how to deal with the crisis, which meant it would be discarded.

Via the Miami Herald:

Congressman Connie Mack’s entrance into Florida’s moribund U.S. Senate race has propelled him into instant-frontrunner status in the Republican field and threatens incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson, according to a new poll.

Mack garners 32 percent of the theoretical vote, while his fellow Republicans are polling in the single digits, the Quinnipiac University poll shows. In a general-election matchup, Mack would get 40 percent of the vote and Nelson 42 percent.

“The entrance of Congressman Connie Mack into the Senate race changes what had been shaping up as an easy reelection for Sen. Bill Nelson into a tough fight that the incumbent could lose," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “The fact that Mack is essentially tied with Nelson, who has been a statewide political figure for two decades, should set off warning bells at Democratic headquarters.”

Nelson is the only Democrat elected to statewide office in Florida. The fact that he’s nearly tied speaks volumes about the challenges of running as a Democrat in 2012.

What makes the numbers so surprising is that Mack has yet to campaign and hasn’t made an official announcement that he’s even running. But he’s the son and namesake of a well-liked former Florida Republican senator, who was the grandson and namesake of a famous baseball player. So Mack, a Cape Coral Republican, could be enjoying some residual benefits of having high name recognition.

If you're not all that familiar with Mack, here are some good clips from him. First, with Piers Morgan during the Debt Ceiling debate, Mack warns the CNN host not to turn his show into a 'joke.'



Here is Mack pressing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about operation Fast and Furious. Look for this testimony to rear its head as the investigation continues to get bigger. Clinton did damage to herself here thanks to Mack's questions. So far, he is the only congressman or Senator to press Clinton on the failed operation that resulted in the death of a Border Agent. One should walk away from this exchange with the strong sense that Hillary has culpability. If so, Mack did a huge service to the Oversight committee's investigation. The questions Hillary wouldn't answer were so straight forward that she sounded like she was pleading the fifth by not answering them:



Let's also not forget former Obama manufacturing czar, Ron Bloom. Mack, as best I can tell, is the only congressman to call Bloom on his outrageous comments about the free market being 'nonsense' and that Bloom agreed with Mao about how to gain political power.



If Mack is elected Senator of Florida in 2012, it will be a significant victory for conservatism.

h/t Hot Air