Alan Grayson Wants His Seat Back — To Fight ‘Tooth And Nail’ Against Trump
By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 1, 2018
Alan Grayson, the controversial Florida Democrat who left Congress to launch a failed Senate bid, wants his old job back — and he’s taking on a fellow Democrat to get it.
The volatile legislator, who threatened to have police arrest a Politico reporter who was asking him about domestic abuse allegations, will challenge incumbent Rep. Darren Soto in an upcoming primary. The primary fight in a safe Democratic district could annoy Democratic Party elders, who are hoping to take control of the House in 2018.
“I don’t need anyone’s permission to run for office,” Grayson told Orlando TV station WFTV 9. “What I’ve done is ask the people.”
Grayson did not run for reelection in Congress in order to pursue his 2016 campaign for Senate. He now says that was a mistake. “If I hadn’t run for Senate, I’d be in Congress right now fighting Donald Trump tooth and nail right now,” he told WFTV. “I think Donald Trump should be impeached.”
Grayson will pose a serious primary threat to Soto. Grayson had $700,000 in his campaign account at the end of March, according to Politico. That’s nearly twice as much as Soto, who had just $365,000.
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.
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