TALLAHASSEE — There's a side of Gwen Graham voters didn't see during her successful campaign to unseat incumbent Rep. Steve Southerland, but on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon she did something her campaign manager had forbidden: she danced.
Campaign manager Julia Gill Woodward put Graham on "dance lockdown" after seeing her dance, Graham said at a campaign stop in Panama City Monday.
"It was something I was willing to commit to because I was told by my campaign manager — it was very hurtful — that my dancing alone could be the demise of my campaign," Graham joked Monday.
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But with her historic victory secure, she danced Wednesday at the busy intersection of Seventh Street and Thomasville Road, where she and members of her staff waved signs thanking voters for electing her. If she'd ever taken a dance lesson, Graham didn't let on.
"For me it just comes naturally," Graham joked Wednesday at a press conference on the steps of Florida's old Capitol building. "I'm just lucky I guess."
But it wasn't luck that the Democrat bucked a nationwide trend and won the election in a conservative district while Republicans gained seats in Congress and retook control of the Senate, she said.
"This has been an incredible congressional race watched nationally to see if bipartisanship could be a winning message," Graham said, "and last night the 2nd Congressional District of Florida proved that people want to have common sense, reasonable representation in Washington that's willing to work together across the aisle to start making the decisions and making the changes that need to come to Congress, which is just to start doing their jobs again."
Her victory was narrow — she won by fewer than 3,000 votes — but she said she would represent opponents just as she would her supporters.
"Politics is not personal for me, and I think people will see, regardless of whether they voted for me or not, that they are going to have someone who is working hard for their best interests every single day," she said.
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--- GRAHAM UNSEATS SOUTHERLAND»»
Constituents are concerned about the local economy and the jobs market, and Graham said she wants to work to enhance opportunities by developing the district's infrastructure so the area is attractive to potential job creators.
Graham, whose term starts in January, also said she'd make it a priority to set up offices in the district so people with problems have access, noting that her next performance evaluation is only two years away.
"The best way you get re-elected is by doing a very good job in the position you're in," Graham said.