On Monday, Paul C. McKain, candidate for Florida’s 2nd District congressional seat, made an announcement on 100.7 WFLA’s “The Morning Show” that he will drop his party affiliation to run as an independent. McKain was formerly running on the Florida Whig Party ticket, and was the first from the party to run for national office. The announcement will certainly cause a stir, as McKain’s campaign has already been raising eyebrows in the district; it will also help ease the reservations held by independent and partisan voters skeptical of the Whig brand.
From McKain’s campaign website:
In keeping with his philosophy of “Principles Above Party”, Paul McKain has ended his affiliation with the Florida Whig Party and will now run as an independent candidate for Florida’s Second District Congressional seat currently held by Allen Boyd.
McKain chose to end his affiliation with the Florida Whig Party for one important reason: accountability to the voters. Says McKain, “I do not want to have to adopt any party’s platform or answer to any party’s leader. Unfortunately, that is the direction we were going with the Whigs. I didn’t like it and my supporters didn’t like it. Each congressional district is unique and cannot be handled with a one size fits all platform approach. When elected, I will answer to and be accountable to the voters of District 2 and the voters of District 2 alone. Principles above party. That is what this election is about.”
Check out McKain’s interview on “The Morning Show” with Preston Scott on 100.7 WFLA.
Tom is a Political Science/International Affairs major from St. Petersburg, FL. After he earns his B.S./B.A. from Florida State University, he plans on attending Law School. Currently, he contributes to both Informed-Dissent.com and "The Daily Loaf" section of Creative Loafing, an alternative news publication in Tampa, FL.