Campaign Evaluation: Nick Zoller (U.S. House, FL-13)

[MelissaWV]

Well this just got serious, since Young is dead and all...

 

[CG1976]

Zoller suspended his campaign for a week to mourn Young's death. Per twitter. Personally I just gave him another $25.

 

[CG1976]

Bump. Kind of seems as though discussion has subsided.

 

[malkusm]

Poll for overall rating will be added on Monday (10/28). OP will also be updated at that time.

 

[TaftFan]

I'm confused about all the (perhaps perceived on my part) enthusiasm for this guy. Can somebody give me more information than anecdotal evidence?

 

[CG1976]

Sure. I've done a lot of research. What would u like to know?

 

[CG1976]

Also as a note - he's supporting Paul Broun for Senate.

 

[malkusm]

Poll is now open. Please vote within the next 2 weeks.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

You may want to re-read this entire Twitter thread, which you participated in:

https://twitter.com/TerriLLand/status/375697593163993091

At the time of the Syria "crisis", Nick tweeted the following. Apparently he was concerned about Syria's chemical weapons. Would this translate into a vote for action to be taken against Syria?

.@TerriLLand Leaving chemical weapons isnt an option, a simple 'no' isnt a plan. Be a leader & have a plan to remove chem weapons. #MISEN

@culli39 I don't want us in the civil war, I want chem weapons and biological agents removed bc they could ultimately be a threat to us

https://twitter.com/NickZoller/status/375702484091932672

 

[Brian4Liberty]

He seems like a nice guy. He seems like he is good on civil rights and privacy.

Concerns:

The politicians he has associated with in the past have been very mainstream GOP. IMHO, his foreign policy would be more Rubio than Ron Paul. Same with immigration. He supports public schools a bit too much. He describes himself as a moderate Republican, that opposes "fringe elements" in the GOP, and wants to find common ground and work together. Seems like a person who would be in the Boehner/Ryan camp.

Not sure how much he would be in agreement with Ron Paul when it comes to actual votes.

He is a bit young, and this will be a crowded Primary by the time it's done. Odds of winning the Primary are low, IMO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida's_13th_congressional_district_special_election,_2014

The race per Wikipedia (Nick's campaign may want to fix this):

Republican primary

Candidates

Potential

Rick Baker, former Mayor of St. Petersburg[1][3]
Neil Brickfield, former Pinellas County Commissioner[4]
George Cretekos, Mayor of Clearwater[4]
Larry D. Crow, former State Representative[4]
Frank Hibbard, former Mayor of Clearwater[1]
David Jolly, attorney and former general counsel to Bill Young[4]
Sonya March, attorney and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2004[4]
Michael Pinson, publisher[4]
Everett Rice, former Pinellas County sheriff[5]
Karen Seel, Pinellas County Commissioner[1]
Beverly Young, widow of Bill Young[1]
Billy Young, son of Bill Young[1]
Tom Young, brother of Bill Young[4]

Declined

Nick Zoller, Republican consultant and strategist[6]

Edit: Nick could very well be the most "liberty-oriented" candidate in that long list, but purity may not be very high in comparison to Ron Paul.

 

[CG1976]

He isn't running in the special election, he is running in the regularly scheduled primary. That's per the Tampa bay times. There are obvious hurdles for liberty candidates in a special election if they aren't already elected officials. He still has a short time until August and is our best chance in the state of Florida so I really hope you guys get behind him. Yes, he's a young candidate but he's knowledgable on the issues, and is a breath of fresh air for a body of inept careerists. Just my two, or three cents.

 

[muzzled dogg]

was there confusion that he was running in a special election?

 

[CG1976]

No, Bill Young died so there will be a special and a regular election next year. Nick Zoller evidently opted to run in the regularly scheduled election and not the special election.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

was there confusion that he was running in a special election?

Not anymore. It appears he is waiting for next year, when there will be a new incumbent.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Apparently this will be the highest profile (and biggest money) House campaign in the nation. I am still not clear as to whether there will be two elections next year for this seat, or just one. Haven't been able to find a source which talks about two elections.

http://watchdog.org/111912/democrats-congressional-race/

 

[CG1976]

There have to be two elections. One to fill remainder of current term then one to fill the next term. Also based on the current environment the special heavily favors a well funded democrat.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

There have to be two elections. One to fill remainder of current term then one to fill the next term.

Do have documentation on that? I am not familiar with the specific law there in Florida.

It seems like a waste to have two elections months apart, but I know that some States do that. Do some States only have one when they are close together?

 

[Brian4Liberty]

This candidate was brought to us by CG1976, who is a brand new member, with no track record of being a Ron Paul supporter. All this user has done here is promote Nick.

Edit: just pointing out the obvious.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

My current opinion on Nick is that he seems like a nice enough guy, who has been influenced to a certain extent on economics by Peter Schiff, and civil liberties by Ron Paul. On the other hand, he seems to be a get along GOP traditionalist, more like Jeb Bush or Paul Ryan. Would this translate into Congressional votes that would match up with Ron Paul? No way to know for sure, but experience dictates that usually a zombie-bite happens pretty quickly with this profile. A voting record would be very helpful. New candidates with no voting record are difficult to evaluate, and sometimes it comes down to gut feel.

 

[CG1976]

Look, I'm just advocating for a candidate I believe in. I knew of the forums and thoughts you guys might be willing to help.