TWO POLK SENATORS PLAN TO BATTLE IT OUT FOR 2010

One of the byproducts of term limits for Florida legislators is that those ambitious enough to give it a try have to begin running for leadership posts almost before they have moved into their office in Tallahassee.

Thus we may be seeing a showdown between two Polk County Republicans who plan to run for Senate President in 2010.

According to Lakeland Ledger political columnist Bill Rufty on Monday, State Senator Paula Dockery (R - Lakeland) had originally planned to seek the senate's top office in 2008. However, the numbers were apparantly running against her, and local collegue Senator J.D. Alexander (R - Lake Wales) advised her to drop out and threw his support behind eventual winner Senator J. Alex Villalobos (R - Miami).

Dockery is continuing her efferts toward becoming Senate President in 2010, but now...Alexander is now running as well. From Rufty's column this past Monday:

Dockery is even more effusive about her campaign this time. There is a quiet, behind-the-scenes feeling by Dockery and her supporters that Alexander abandoned her in her run for the post for the 2008 term.

Alexander said he left only when it became apparent to him that she did not have the votes to win and that she would not follow his advice on her election run.

This time, Dockery said, she will make it.

"Yes, indeed I am running for president in 2010," she said. "I am very excited about it and it is very promising."

Left unsaid by either senator is the tension that is building, but both said the campaign will not keep them from working together for Polk County. It is a characteristic that most successful politicians manage: smiles and cooperation on the outside despite any seething going on inside.