(UPDATE)Throughout the years, Eastern Hillsborough County hasn't exactly been a welcoming region for Democrats. But Gail Gottlieb and her followers think she has a solid shot in the race for the open seat in Florida House District 59, which encompasses much of Brandon, Valrico and Riverview.
Apparently the Republican Party of Florida agrees, as its name is on a vicious mailer against Gottlieb that hit mailboxes in the district this past weekend.
The mailer depicts Occupy Wall Street activists on one side, and what appears to be a terrorist flinging a bomb on the other. At the bottom of the flyer it says, "Gail Gottlieb — Way Too Liberal, Way Too Extreme, Not One Of Us!" (You can view it here.)
Gottlieb is a Brandon native who has lived much of her professional life working for progressive groups in Washington D.C. and New York, which apparently makes her too radical for the district. But the Tampa Tribune's conservative editorial board didn't feel that way, as they endorsed her over her GOP opponent, Ross Spano (The Tampa Bay Times endorsed her as well).
Gottlieb calls the mailer "outrageous."