Republicans gain 6,500 more voters in Sarasota

The dramatic twists and turns of the Republican Party’s presidential field has helped fuel a surge in GOP registrations in Sarasota County in advance of the Jan. 31 primary election.

Since the last presidential primary in 2008, Sarasota Republicans have added more than 6,500 voters. A whopping 30 percent – or about 2,000 – have come just since Oct. 1.

Democrats on the other hand have added just 1,000 voters since Oct. 1, according to Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent.

Sarasota Republican Party chairman Joe Gruters said Republicans are fired up and ready for the election season. He said there may be heightened interest in Sarasota because of how many times the presidential candidates have come through the region. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain have all held events in Sarasota during the last six months.

Thanks to the enrollment boost, Republicans now have 119,305 registered voters in Sarasota County – a 6 percent overall increase since the 2008 primary election.

The numbers are similar in neighboring Manatee County, where Republican registrations have grown about 4 percent since 2008 to just over 87,000.

But even with the growing numbers, Republicans have real cause for concern because Democrats in both counties are growing at a far faster rate, even though they remain in the minority.

Since the 2008 presidential primary, Sarasota Democrats have seen their numbers increase by 15 percent to just under 87,000 voters. In Manatee County, the number of registered Democrats has climbed 6 percent to almost 67,000.

Residents have until Jan. 3 to register to vote in time to qualify to cast ballots in the Jan. 31 presidential primary. Only registered Republicans are allowed to vote in the primary election.

To register in Sarasota County, call (941) 861-8600. In Manatee, call (941) 741-3823.

Competitive Congressional race?

Even before statewide redistricting is complete, some of the top national political prognosticators are betting this region’s congressional race will be among the best races to watch in Florida in 2012.

Since Sarasota Democrat Keith Fitzgerald announced he was challenging U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, both the Cook Political Report and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball have upgraded the 13th District race to be on their lists of most competitive House districts for 2012.

Only three other races among Florida’s 25 current House districts are on both of the lists. The other incumbents on both are U.S. Reps. Allen West, R-Plantation; Dan Webster, R-Orlando; and David Rivera, R-Miami.

To be sure, both Cook and Sabato favor Buchanan to win re-election. But both say the pieces are in place for the race to become more competitive and merits inclusion on their watch lists.

One reason for the attention is Fitzgerald, a former state legislator who is gaining statewide support in his bid to beat Buchanan. Last week former Gov. Bob Graham and former gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink headlined a fund-raiser in support of Fitzgerald in Tampa.

“I think he would be a powerful member of our delegation,” Graham said in introducing Fitzgerald to Tampa Bay area Democrats.

Fitzgerald said he’s finding more buzz about the race, not just in Sarasota, but around Tampa Bay.

Ending insider trading

Buchanan is adding his name to a growing list of Republicans that are trying to end insider stock trading on Capitol Hill.

The new attention on the issue follows a CBS News story in November about how some members of Congress and their staffs are profiting through insider trading that is illegal outside of Congress.

Already more than 230 members of Congress have signed on as co-sponsors to the bill that would prohibit members of Congress from trading on knowledge they obtain because of their positions in government. It would bar them from sharing information they obtain with others and require their transactions over $1,000 be publicly reported within 90 days.

“No elected or government official should be profiting from private information obtained because of their job,” Buchanan said in a statement to the Herald-Tribune about the bill.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minnesota.