Race Outcome: Won

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Known for his pull-no-punches style when he represented Florida’s District 9 in the U.S. House, Former Representative Alan Grayson’s return to the campaign trail shows he hasn’t mellowed with time.

And that’s a good thing, because this time around, Grayson is fighting more than his opponent, Tea Party Republican Todd Long. He is also fighting voter suppression efforts in Florida.

Grayson’s campaign has focused on signing up Democrats to vote by mail.  That way, voters will get their ballots almost a month before the election, with plenty of time to work out any voter suppression problems.

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Progressive Credentials:

• Supported health care reform
• Actively defended the Economic Stimulus Package as a necessary measure to revive the American economy by challenging the GOP’s lies and misinformation
• Supported legislation limiting CEO pay and bonuses for companies that received bailout funds
• Supported the Lilly Ledbetter Act to equalize pay between men and women

Why we like him:  A true populist, Alan Grayson has been one of the loudest, most persistent voices demanding substantive health care reform, among other worthy causes.  Grayson’s outspoken oratory made him the bane of conservatives, and when the prevailing political wisdom is for candidates to run to the center or to the right, Grayson sticks to his principles.

Candidate Quote:  “I saw my colleagues on the far side of the aisle, the Republicans, waving pieces of paper during the State of the Union speech, and I was wondering what they were.   I heard from one of my colleagues that this is what they called the Republican health care plan. I went over, after the speech was over, I picked up a copy that was lying down on the Republican side, and it turns out that the Republicans’ health care plan was a blank piece of paper.   And it’s my duty and pride to be able to announce exactly what the Republicans plan to do for health care in America.”

Candidate website:  http://www.graysonforcongress.com/

Alan Grayson came from humble beginnings, as a native from Bronx, New York; he grew up in the tenements.  He worked his way through Harvard University, graduating with high honors.  Immediately following his undergraduate career, he enrolled in Harvard Law School where he again graduated with honors.

As an attorney he focused on contract law.  In 1986 he helped to found the Alliance for Aging Research (AAR), serving as an officer of the organization for more than twenty years.

Congressman Grayson was also the first President of IDT Corporation, a publicly traded billion-dollar telecommunications company.

In the 2000s he worked as a plaintiffs’ attorney specializing in whistleblower fraud cases aimed at Iraq war contractors.

 

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