A rising Democratic star

A new Democratic campaign star is emerging, and Republicans better beware. This guy used to wear a hockey mask and wield an ax.

Mitch Kates, formerly "Jason the Terrible" on the professional wrestling circuit, is winning considerable buzz among Florida Democrats after having just won his second tough Tampa Bay race in which his candidate was outspent more than four-to-one.

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Oh my god its Paul Begala and James Carville in one!! The Republicans should just fold the tent this guy is the second coming.

Mitch Kates thinks BIG, produces BIG wins and he motivates/inspires BIG.

Bill Young hasn't been touched just yet - but wait for the slam to come. Young's neglect of the Veterans, his constituents, won't be forgotten. No matter how many, say 100 vets he and his family have helped, won't take the din off the tens of thousands he neglected when they "stopped visiting Walter Reed" because of his concerns being ignored. Incompetence.

I'd buy Mitch Kates dinner anytime :)

hey, I thought that the Michelle girl who worked on the Barefield and Brown campaign was supposed to be the Republican rising star. Why did the post not write about this young rising star in the republican party?

Slowest news day in history. If Kates is the future, I'll stay in the past.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Nonetheless, Mitch is a good guy.

Berfield and Harrison were low hanging fruit. He deserves credit for not bungling those races......but there is always next year.

Mitch is a good man, to be sure. However, it’s easier to be successful when you have good candidates going up against bad ones. Justice and Mulhern would have won if a stuffed animal were running their campaigns.

Keep it up Mitch!… and for God’s sake Adam, keep it realistic and ease-up on the a** kissing. It’s getting pathetic.

oooh big win for the big man

winning a city thats already a Democrat majority (the S. Tampa precincts overwhelmingly D) in a 15% turnout in a city of 300k

OOOHHHH...I'm a shakin' in my boots!!!!

[Maverick]

Hey, a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while....and Kates is that squirrel

[Joe from Philly]

Here's why we need to get rid of Republicans everywhere.
I can't believe the SPTimes ignored this one.

Mitch can't carry the Maestro's strap

[Charles]

The Tampa Bay area is lucky to have Mitch Kates working to elect smart candidates with true family values!

Wasn't that Jason Weatherington guy considered a "rising star" too?

Kates' greatest accomplishment is getting good reporters like Adam and Bill to write a puff piece like this. Let's look at the facts: Charlie Justice won because the Democratic Party spent heavily to boost turnout in their targeted Pinellas house districts (Long, Kriseman, Heller). Mary Mulhern won because she had been on the County Commission ballot just four months ago and had great name ID. No disrespect to either Charlie or Mary, both of whom are deserving candidates, but Mitch taking credit for their wins is a joke.

For more info about Mitch Kates, you should contact Dave Meltzer at the wrestlingobserver.com

He is a big wrestling/mma journalist who can tell you a lot!

Good manager, good win...two in a row in "battleground" areas. But 10:10 is right. Dem districts, well-known candidates, and justice benefited by having a crippled Berfield come out of the primary.

Easy on the coronations, though. Mitch is good, but there's ain't a whole lot of competition on the Dem side for good operatives.

Let's not forget that the Hillsborough REC didn't help Harrison, unlike the Dems who brought in Kates from the state party.

Let's see how he does in a FAIR fight.

Maybe he can move to Tallahassee and be the guy assigned to keeping Karen Thurman's wine glass full at all times.

10:52 is spot on...remember Tampa City Council races are "supposed" to be non-partisan.

The late Saul-Sena endorsement sealed the eal for Mulhern in S. Tampa which is what one needs to win for a citywide race.

where is the romney troll?

[Reality]

There is no such thing as "non-partisan" political races. It’s only a soft term to cover a harsh reality. My knowledge of Mr. Kates is that he’s a sharp individual, aggressive, and has motivating presence/delivery. I’d want him on my team.

Having said that, the “win at all costs” and “it’s all about the money” approach has led to some fairly incompetent, immoral, and corrupt people getting elected. Considering those factors and given the increase in voter apathy and the decrease in candidate quality… let’s not coronate him just yet.

10:52 is actually dead wrong. Kates was not "brought in" by the Democratic Party. Mulhern got NO HELP from the Dem Party! Hers was a non-partisan campaign and win. Mulhern got lots of Republican support because she was the better candidate offering real solutions. Mitch met her during the Justice campaign, was impressed by her quality and values and agreed to work cheap. Harrison had three high-priced consultants and 5X's more $$$$$! Mitch helped run a smart campaign. Informed voters chose the better product. Get over it.

[Come on!]

10:39, we know it's you SS. Stop self promoting and give some other people credit when credit is due.

11:45..see Reality's post....

If you still think the parties aren't involved behind the scenes, you are kidding yourself.

You must have missed the statements by Kates and other Dems after the win (I'm paraphrasing) that this was one step/example of more dem victories across the state.

HCREC did not get into the race like the DEC did and that made the difference. Without the REC grassroots machine, all the money in the world wouldn't have won that race in a heavy dem district.

Kates is a paid dem operative, who used his connections and training to win that race, plain and simple. If you think he did it out of the love in his heart you are WAY outta touch.

[Mencken Jr]

Ya know, maybe the HCREC didn't get involved because they knew inside the city, in this political environment, they're a lost cause.

11:05 you are pathetic. mitch kates and karen thurman are good, honest people and you are just hateful. you are what is wrong with politics.

[Think&VoteRED]

Follow the Money! Follow the Money! Follow the Money!

Everyone of us should be pulling finance reports and looking at contributions and expenditures for both GOP and Dems.

12:08 pm - There may be more connections to the DEM state party than to the RPOF and the HCREC, but we need more proof before we throw up shaky accusations. Plus if thats what the dems had to do to win then the GOP best not forget that!

They won this time. That's how the game is played, they out manuvered the GOP and the RPOF & the HCREC wrote off key positions of power in FLorida.

"LET'S PLAY HARDBALL!"

How did this Mulhern win REALLY happen? I keep hearing about some DEAL...Anybody hear about this? I wasn't invited to the table, how about you?

[Think&VoteRED]

Kates was at the helm of 2 winning teams, he's now a winner (LOCALLY). Sounds like he lost a few too.

His empty paychecks and Underdog wins only take him so far then he will burn out, unless he is backed by a larger bankroll we don't know about yet.

He will be disected soon...the press will start looking into his past and begin the politics of personal destruction. Better leave town fast! Especially after he flamed the fire on YouTube, the GOP bulls-eye will be like a neon sign on his head.

Gotta love Saul-Sena's BS from that video. She blathered on about women being better than men, and the great dems win after she was quoted so loudly in the Tampa Tribune about how all of the races should be VERY NON-partisan.

Yeah right, who here really thinks any of the City races were non-partisan?

Maybe Bi-partisan, because everybody needs people to walk neighborhoods and get signs out, and can't forget about bi-partisan check writters!

10:52,

"Let's see how he does in a FAIR fight."

I agree. Let's see how Kates does when the campaign war chests are equal. I have only seen him win with overwhelming odds against his candidate. A level playing field would be interesting indeed.

11:05-
That is Omar's job!!!

[3kidsCatholic]

Someone should do a comparison article which compares the donations of non-partisan races to the donations of partisan races, GOP vs. dem.

Mulhern must have ONLY gotten grasroots and low dollar party faithful. Shawn & Julie Brown got big names and established players like Crist and Bush supporters.

Look at who donated to Dingfelder...many big name GOP supporters in Tampa...WHY!

Adam Smith and the rest of the reporters for Tampa Politics ought to be asking these types of questions too! Wait a minute I forgot, reporters are just grownups that studied journalism in college. They didn't do their homework then, what makes me think they will do any homework.

This blog is just an easy way for the St. Pete Times to get all of us to give their reporters leads. Plus it helps all of the Political Junkies in Florida VENT!

[Mencken Jr]

3kidsCatholic, Dingfelder has been a pretty good councilman, and Julie Brown was pretty clearly Jason Kuhn's revenge candidate. The fact that he changed his vote after his constituents complained means he hasn't forgotten who he represents. That kind of thing speaks volumes.

As to Mulhern, she had a lot of grassroots support from all over Tampa. Her big winner was her support of stormwater improvements (and Harrison's opposition to paying for those improvements). She took precincts that should have been Harrison's, while Harrison tried to ride the "tax revolt" horse into City Hall.

[3kidsCatholic]

Mencken Jr - Great disection of your own concerns.

Sounds like you helped both win...great.

I was trying to get to more of the connections behind the issues, like Kuhn.

You are correct that Kuhn wanted Julie to win, but that doesn't make Julie Brown, "clearly Jason Kuhn's revenge candidate".

If that is the case then Dingfelder should be the "Trial Lawyer" candidate because of all of the attorney money he got from the likes of Republican Steve Burton, dem. Henry Gill and Bill Wagoner, and all of the law firms in Tampa.

Or Dingfelder should be know as the Union's candidate, since he got MOST of the the UNIONS throughout FLorida to back his campaign.

What wheels were turning behind the scenes which may have helped the Mulhern and Dingfelder campaigns win.

Would you say the same nice things you said about the Charlie Crist campaign? THey took precincts and counties away from Davis the he should have won and totally decimated the FL Dems.

Dingfelder?... why, I hardly knew her!

[Think&VoteRED]

Mencken Jr., Candidates don't just win on their stance on issues or a cleverly crafted message.

But on that note, what happened with Strategic Solutions, the Mallard Group, and Public Concepts? Anybody know their records? They all got paid, and for what?

Ann worked hard & April stayed sober, but NO Strategy! No Targeting! No balls! No Hard hitting mail comparisons! No win! And the other guys never inspired ANY GRASSROOTS Support from the community or the HCRP!

I was under the impression that former clinton staffer on retainer to senate dems was the one responsible for the justice win.

The Ds are sure grasping at straws here!

Mitch Kates is just what Florida Dems need - he's a bit of fresh air. Mitch, the Big Guy, inspires the grassroots' legwork and of course, "the talk", Welcome to Florida darlin' - glad to have ya.

[Gene Smith]

It really is amusing to see the Rs stumbling all over themselves when they get beat. You better get used to it because more is coming.

Here's what Mitch Kates had going for him in these two races:

He had better candidates, who had better messages and connected better with the voters.

He then worked his tail off in both of these races to get the right messages to the right voters at the right time.

And all with a lot less money. It takes a lot of energy and determination to keep grass roots campaigns rolling.

Mitch Kates has that in spades.

Mitch the Animal is no Jack Hebert. Jack is the reason Justice won. He made everyone look at Berfield and think crazy Scientologist.

[Maverick]

3kidsCatholic,

Not all Governor Crist faithful backed Republican Candidate Brown and Harrison. . .the only really wise thing I heard a Democrat say is all politics is local. This election was about local issues, quality of issues and many of the solution are not in the hands of the local officials to correct. So the lack of a message was missing in all of the Republican campaigns which in opinion made them undisirable candidates.

Sincerely,

South Tampa Republicans who voted for John and Mary

P.S. not all of us are willing to be lead into the slaughter house. . . the voters are not as dumb as you as some people think.

Eat it Gene, you're a drunken, bloated freak!

[Mencken Jr]

Think&VoteRed, Dingfelder won because he was a good councilman and Julie Brown just wasn't ready. Mary Mulhern won because she latched onto a powerful local issue that fired up (relatively) lots of people in the part of Tampa that turns out at the highest rate for city elections. Mitch Kates helped her win by not blowing their money on TV and really ugly signs, and by being much more of a ramrod than Strategic Solutions could have been.

Shawn Harrison lost because he's a tone-deaf lightweight who thought getting a bunch of Tampa power structure heavy hitters would help make up for the fact that voters don't turn out for him and don't really like him much, and because Mary didn't screw up the way his consultants probably told him she would.