Obama’s coattails are a concern for the GOP

By
Adam C. Smith                                                                     Read Spanish Version
St.
Petersburg Times Political Editor

Taken
from the Sunday, July 13, St. Petersburg Times.

Barack
Obama’s
political strength worries U.S. Rep. Adam
Putnam,
R-Bartow. No, the House GOP Conference chairman and third highest
ranking Republican in the House doesn’t think Obama will win
Florida’s 27 electoral votes, but he thinks Obama’s ability to turn
out African-Americans and other strong supporters could make a real
difference in some congressional districts, particularly in the
South.

"I
think you’ll see House members who won their last race by 60-65
percent lose because of the turnout model that Obama brings,"
predicted Putnam.

He
wasn’t talking about Florida seats, but in a Political
Connections interview
airing today on Bay News 9, Putnam pointed to what he sees as the
five most vulnerable congressional incumbents in Florida: Tim
Mahoney,
D-Palm Beach Gardens, Republicans Lincoln
Diaz-Balart
and Mario
Diaz-Balart
in the Miami area, and Republicans Tom
Feeney and
Ric Keller
in the Orlando area.

Putnam,
a big Fred
Thompson
supporter back in the day, also named three strong vice presidential
picks for John
McCain:
Louisiana Gov. Bobby
Jindal;
former Ohio Rep. Rob
Portman;
and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt
Romney. No
mention of fellow Tampa Bay Republican Charlie
Crist.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article696241.ece