ORLANDO - Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas and U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, two Democrats interested in Bob Graham's seat in the U.S. Senate if he doesn't seek re-election, hoped to earn the support of central Florida Democrats during their first appearance together as potential candidates Saturday.
Their speeches at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner sponsored by the Orange County Democrats were to be an important introduction of the South Florida politicians to the central Florida Democrats, who have no regional candidate of their own interested in the race.
Other Democrats who have expressed an interest are U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, from the Panhandle city of Monticello, and U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, from the South Florida community of Miramar.
Graham launched his candidacy for president earlier this month, but the three-term senator hasn't ruled out running for another term next year should he be eliminated from the presidential primaries.
Two Republican congressmen have announced candidacies for the Senate race. U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, of West Palm Beach, has raised significantly more money than former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, a central Florida resident who lost a Senate race in 2000 to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
Penelas' term ends next year. He was first elected mayor in 1996. As a Cuban-American, his candidacy could steal Cuban votes away from the Republican Party in Miami-Dade County and appeal to Hispanics in central Florida. Hispanics make up more than 17 percent of metro Orlando's population.
Penelas led the drive for statewide passage of the constitutional amendment making pre-K education available to all 4-year-olds. He generated controversy in 2000 during the Elian Gonzalez case by announcing his police department wouldn't assist federal agents if they tried to take him from his Miami home.
Deutsch, an attorney, was elected to the U.S. House in 1992 from a largely Democratic district in Broward County, the most heavily Jewish part of the state. The Yale Law School graduate has a mostly liberal voting record and was an active player in the Everglades Restoration Plan.
