Paula Dockery Out of Governor's Race

I suspected this after seeing a media poll with Paula Dockery at 3 percent, but this is still disappointing to me. I have told people across the political spectrum that if Dockery was the nominee, she would be the first Republican I ever voted for in a statewide election. But this wasn't the right year for a bipartisan candidate.

From her statement:

"I'm also a realist and understand the costs of effectively competing statewide. At this point in the election cycle, I see no financial path to victory. And so today, with both resignation that the resources are not there and appreciation for the journey we shared, I am ending my campaign to be governor of the great state of Florida.

The problems for her campaign were numerous. She started with a name recognition deficit, a state Senator up against a sitting Attorney General race who previously ran two Senate campaigns. Bill McCollum has stronger donor support and a reliable voter base. Dockery is popular enough in Lakeland, so much so she initially won her Senate seat unopposed, but has no Dockery Army waiting for her command.

Her hope was to be the outsider candidate, but she was the wrong flavor for this political environment. As Senate candidate Marco Rubio whipped up conservatives anxious to "take back" the Republican Party in Florida, Dockery challenged her opponent from the left. She was an environmentalist, and fought numerous efforts to pay for tax cuts by raiding trusts and issuing unfunded mandates. She was wooing those Republicans who are leaving the party. While she said nice words about Tea Party enthusiasm, she was never one of them.

Then Rick Scott came and claimed the usurper mantel. After dropping $6 million on the race, the upstart has established himself as the McCollum alternative. He is completely unqualified, dangerous fringe, but his message resonates right now with anti-establishment voters in his party. I realize it is unwise to compare figures from two polls, but judging the new media poll against a Mason-Dixon published in early May, Scott is pulling voters from Dockery.

According to the Ledger, she is taking time to decide whether to stay in her seat. That shows a dignity and class rare among ambitious politicians. She won this seat in 2008 and is entitled to another two terms, but since a couple Republicans were already organizing campaigns, she may resign anyway. But that would be a loss for Central Florida. I don't think it is what should happen, and I don't think it will.

The first time I ever met Dockery, she spoke with sincerity about becoming state Senate President someday, but term limits and a tendency to name leadership years in advance have doomed that possibility. Still, Dockery is an impressive lawmaker, and one who still has a lot to offer Florida.