In Crazy Year, Don't Forget About the Bizarre Race in Florida

Most of this year's political attention is, of course, focused on the race for the White House. But a piece at New York calls attention to the "second strangest campaign of the season," the race for a Senate seat in Florida. On the Democratic side, it features the ever-colorful Rep. Alan Grayson in a bitter primary fight against fellow congressman Patrick Murphy. Whoever wins in August will in the general election face Marco Rubio, who has made an about-face and decided to run for re-election after all. As Jason Zengerle writes, the Rubio angle makes this race especially important to Democrats—they could not only gain control of a GOP seat with a victory but possibly ruin Rubio's political career for good in the process. But any race featuring the 58-year-old Grayson—see here— is bound to be unusual.

He's been called the "Trump of the left," but Zengerle thinks he's closer to "Bernie Sanders in Floridian drag." Leery of, among other things, his liberal antics, his marital problems, and questions over his investments, the Democratic establishment is actively working to defeat him. Meanwhile, media scrutiny into the 33-year-old Murphy's background suggests he's been stretching the truth about his pre-congressional life as an accountant and small-business owner. (A sampling of Grayson's high opinion of him: Murphy " lived off a trust fund on his daddy's yacht for the first 30 years of his life.") "Grayson currently trails Murphy in the polls, but if he loses the primary, he seems intent on bringing Murphy down with him," writes Zengerle. Read the full story, which includes snapshots of all three candidates and the revelation that Grayson is "shockingly smart." (More Alan Grayson stories.)