22,273

There is a dearth of information on Ted Yoho that I find remarkable, given that it is 2012.  I am not suggesting that he’s a born-in-Kenya sleeper agent set out to destroy Congress – quite the opposite, the fact that he won 22,273 voters in a GOP primary without much help from local media says a lot about

a)      The erosion of our media’s coverage of local politics.

b)      Yoho’s ability to connect with voters during the pound-the-pavement portion of the long primary season.

c)      The eagerness of GOP voters to look beyond a “Washington insider”, as Yoho was successfully able to label Cliff Stearns.

But the most important part of all that, did you miss it, was this number.  22,273.  It’s the reason I started this project.  Because Yoho faced no pitched opposition in the general election, we now have a Representative who was selected, effectively, by 1/14^th of the participating voters in the district.  Here are the final vote totalsfor the 2012 Yoho / Gaillot race:  


I don’t think it’s sour grapes to suggest that this is anomalous, though I am sure that if you looked through the whole portfolio of 435 US House Reps, you’re going to find more than a few that got their start in the same out-of-the-blue fashion.  But 22,273 is a pretty low number of constituents to be beholden to.

Yes, it was a divided field.  A four-way race in a new district where a good number of voters were unfamiliar with all four candidates.  But I think a close reading of the numbers of both the GOP primary and the main election, as well as a fair understanding of the different appeal of Cliff Stearns, Steve Oelrich and Jimmy Jett would show that a good number of the voters in FL-03, even the GOP voters, are going to be pretty unhappy with a self-professed Tea Partier representing them in Washington.

What I’m doing here is hinting at larger pieces I want to break out and write about in depth later.  Understanding the 2012 GOP primary is a critical part of the story, undoubtedly.  That’s the next installment.  For now, here’s a garish but functional recap if you want to look at the data for yourself… 

Introduction and campaign contributions

Gainesville, Florida. 

Your United States Representative for the next two years is a gentleman by the name of Ted Yoho.  The purpose of this blog will be investigating how this came to pass, what he will do as our representative in Congress, and what will happen in 2014.

As much as anyone else in the House of Reps, Yoho is coming in as a blank slate.  He wasn't supposed to win a four-way Republican primary, and after he did, his ascension to the House was not in doubt; the Democratic nominee was a non-entity in the race: no name recognition, no money, no state or national support to speak of.  All this despite the fact that Florida's 3rd Congressional District is so minty-fresh after redistricting that the Wikipedia page has the wrong map still.  (Yoho's actual territory is essentially the old 6th Congressional District run for many years by Cliff Stearns.)

I intend to analyze the maps and demographics in greater detail in the months to come.  I have plenty of personal thoughts about the 'Ted Yoho Story' as told to Republican primary voters, and what his politics would appear to be, but these are all topics to examine in depth later.

For now, I want to do as political bloodhounds have done since time immemorial and follow the money, or at least, start a discussion about it.  Here are Ted Yoho's non-individual campaign contributors for the 2012 election.  I'm going to investigate some of these outfits in greater detail later (The Eye of the Tiger Political Action Committee?  really?) but here's a quick above-the-fold look at his top-drawer contributors:


$5000

ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (ABC PAC) 
EVERY REPUBLICAN IS CRUCIAL (ERICPAC)
EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (EXXONMOBIL PAC)
FREEDOM PROJECT; THE
SARAH PAC

$2500+

ACTION COMMITTEE FOR RURAL ELECTRIFICATION. (ACRE) NATIONAL RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION PAC (BANKPAC)
ASPLUNDH TREE EXPERT CO POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (ATE PAC)
NATIONAL CATTLEMEN'S BEEF ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (NCBA-PAC)
NATIONAL EMERGENCY MEDICINE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION PAC (RESTAURANT PAC)
SUNTRUST BANK GOOD GOVERNMENT GROUP FLORIDA

I do not believe that all political contributions are inherently sinful or sinister, and I do believe there is a place for political contributions as a form of gratitude or support.  But I think it's important to bear in mind that these are contributions for an election that was widely understood to be non-competitive from the moment go.  In my mind, it puts maxed-out contributions more in the realm of influence-peddling, and less in the realm of 'lets get another Republican in the House.'

I welcome any discussion of these entities and what they might expect from Ted Yoho in Congress.