Few congressional defeats stung conservatives as much as Representative Pat Murphy’s defeat of Allen West — NR Cruiser — in Florida.
Besides the popularity of West among conservatives, the district was hardly tough territory for Republicans. Florida’s 18th congressional district is one of only nine in the U.S. that elected a Democrat to the House but gave more of its vote to Mitt Romney last year. Two Republicans announced bids early, former Connecticut state lawmaker Alan Schlesinger (you may remember him as the token longshot Republican in the 2006 Joe Lieberman–Ned Lamont Senate race) and Juno Beach vice mayor pro tem Ellen Andel. But the Republican field now features a veteran state lawmaker with serious financial resources at his disposal, Carl Domino.
Domino served four terms and lost in the 2010 GOP Senate primary; as of 2012, his personal financial disclosure forms listed his net worth as roughly $24 million. He was the wealthiest state legislator in Florida during his term. His old state-legislative campaign site can be found here; his financial firm’s site can be found here.
West has said he’s open to challenging GOP senator Marco Rubio in 2016.