Republican David Jolly narrowly defeated Democrat Alex Sink on Tuesday night in the Florida special election to succeed the late Representative Bill Young, which came to be viewed as a preview of the midterm elections. Political parties and outside groups spent $11 million on the race, which featured cameos from the likes of Bill Clinton and Paul Ryan, and let each party try out its strategy heading into November. Jolly hammered Sink on her support for Obamacare, so Republicans will likely see the race as a confirmation that they should keep focusing on the health care law in elections nationwide. Democrats countered that Sink did well, considering that Republicans have held the district for nearly 60 years. The New York Times notes, “political analysts have said that the results of one House special election, no matter how close, seldom transcend state boundaries,” but that isn’t going to stop those desperate for a political race to analyze.
