US House
Davis entered the race for the Tampa-based 11th District in 1996, after Sam Gibbons--the district's only congressman since its creation in 1963—announced his retirement. Although Gibbons had endorsed Davis as his successor, Davis finished second in a four-way Democratic primary behind former Tampa mayor Sandy Freedman. He won the runoff with 56 percent of the vote.
He faced Republican Mark Sharpe in the general election. The race was initially thought to be close, especially since Sharpe had nearly defeated Gibbons in 1994 and held him to 52 percent in 1992. However, Davis won by a convincing 15-point margin, largely due to Bill Clinton carrying the district. After defeating an underfunded Republican in 1998, Davis faced only a Libertarian candidate in 2000 and 2004 and was completely unopposed in 2002.
Davis was one of the co-chairs of the New Democrat Coalition in the House of Representatives. The New Democrat Coalition is affiliated with the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.
On October 10, 2002, Jim Davis was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.
Read more about this topic: Jim Davis (Florida Politician)
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