I'm always a wee bit suspicious when I hear of politicians being described as "farmers"; half the time it translates as "landlord" and the other half as "owner of a factory processing agricultural products". Maybe Boyd is different, I don't know.
Anyway.
Presidential Primary figures for the district... Obama 37%, Clinton 33%, Edwards 24%
I translate that primary figure as meaning - black man winning will be difficult. There are a lot of DINOs in these parts.
The district is about 22% African American and likely has a sizable number of moderate or liberal Democrats because of FSU and state government. It's comparable to few other districts in the South. Perhaps its only comparison is to John Barrow's district when it included Athens and was substantially more Democratic and diverse than FL-2. Or VA-5 or KY-6? Certainly it includes a few counties with suspiciously massive trends toward McCain this year.
I don't know anything about Lawson or whether he can ignite a successful challenge against Boyd from the left.
