2008 Re-election Campaign
In June 2007, Feeney's district was one of five in Florida that Democrats hoped to win from the Republicans in 2008. Despite the perception that Feeney drew it for himself, it has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+3, making it a fairly marginal district on paper. The district gave George W. Bush 52% of the vote in 2000, and 56% in 2004. It includes most of Democratic-leaning Volusia County.
Feeney faced former state representative Suzanne Kosmas in the November election. Kosmas and Feeney served together in the State House from 1996 to 2003, representing neighboring districts. In a poll released on September 18, 2008, Kosmas had 42% of the vote, compared to 43% for Feeney, with the remaining voters undecided. Filings with the Federal Election Commission showed that Feeney had raised $1.5 million as of August 6, compared to $1.2 million by Kosmas, and that Feeney had $804,000 on hand as of that date, compared to $836,000 for Kosmas.
Kosmas attacked Feeney's ties to Abramoff, which quickly gained her traction in this district. The Orlando Sentinel endorsed Kosmas, suggesting Feeney was too conservative for the district. An internal poll for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee showed Kosmas leading Feeney by 23 points, 58% to 35%. Congressional Quarterly had rated the contest as "No Clear Favorite" for most of the campaign, but changed it to "Leans Democratic" in its closing weeks. In the November election, Feeney was defeated, taking 41% of the vote to Kosmas' 57% — the largest margin of defeat for a Republican incumbent in the 2008 cycle.
Read more about this topic: Tom Feeney
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