Florida attorney general race: the GOP has problems

In the battle to be the next Attorney General, the difference between the two parties couldn't be more stark. For the Democrats, two influential and successful state senators, Dave Aronberg and Dan Gelber, are vying for the nomination. And, as we were reminded last weekend, either one would be an exceptional choice.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are looking more and more like The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Until yesterday, the only potential candidate on the GOP side was lieutenant governor Jeff Kottkamp, whose recent brushes with scandal have been both numerous and well-chronicled. (Keep in mind that the attorney general is the state's chief law enforcement officer, a position for which Kottkamp is singularly unqualified.) But now former state legislator and administrator Holly Benson appears to be preparing to enter the fray ... and she has her own problems:

Former Pensacola lawmaker and Crist administration agency head Holly Benson will resign her post leading the state's Agency for Health Care Administration.

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Benson led AHCA for 18 months. Before that, she ran the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation, leaving her seat in the state House representing Pensacola to join Crist's administration.

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Benson represented parts of Northwest Florida. She resigned from the state House soon after she was elected to a fourth term.

So, let's see ... Benson resigned from her seat in the House right after she was reelected ... she was led the Department of Business and Professional Regulation for barely more than a year ... and she was at AHCA for just a year and a half.

It's funny -- last weekend Gelber and Aronberg passionately explained how much they wanted to be attorney general and, at least in Aronberg's case, this was a "dream job" for him. On the other hand, for their attorney general nominee, the GOP likely will have to choose between a candidate with serious ethical questions and a candidate who can't seem to stay committed to one job.

I'd sure feel bad for the Republican Party of Florida right now ... if I weren't laughing so hard.