Democrats struggle to field candidates

Paul Chandler withdraws from state House District 44 race

When state Rep. Eric Eisnaugle resigned to become a judge earlier this year, Orange County Democrats were presented with the rare opportunity of picking up a Republican-held seat in a district increasingly friendly to the party.

Instead, their lone candidate, Paul Chandler, has officially withdrawn, ending a campaign that included a lawsuit over his eligibility, a withdrawal announcement in August before changing his mind a few days later, and his lashing out at his own party’s leadership.

The situation in state House District 44 is emblematic of where the party finds itself, said former Orange County chair Doug Head.

“In short, we’re in terrible shape,” said Head, now a state party committeeman. “I don’t think there’s any denying it. What I’m trying to do is get people to embrace the idea that we’re in terrible shape and deal with it.”

Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida, said one of the state party’s biggest problems has been consistently fielding quality candidates.

“They’ve been very hit or miss,” he said.“This election, the one they had in District 44, is sort of a microcosm of what’s gone wrong for Democrats time and time again.”

The district in west Orange County has long been held by Republicans, but in 2016 a majority of voters within it supported Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump — part of the overall trend that finds Orange with a 335,000 to 215,000 Democratic registration edge over Republicans.

Even so, Democrats ended up with only Chandler running for Eisnaugle’s former seat after Nuren Haider, vice chair of the county party, withdrew at the qualifying deadline.

Chandler, as a lawsuit filed in Tallahassee revealed, was a voter in Missouri until just last year. Candidates must be two-year residents in their districts in order to run. A lawsuit seeking to disqualify him — and potentially, any replacement the party chooses — is pending.