A few miles away in the historic downtown section, Alane Prinz, who owns a children’s clothing store, railed against the health care law. She is still impressed by Mr. Graham. “Years ago, I loved him,” she said. But, she added, “I’m not so sure about her.”

In recent weeks, Mr. Southerland has ratcheted up his campaign, increasing his fund-raising and running a spate of advertisements that tie Ms. Graham to Mr. Obama; the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi; and the health care law. Mr. Southerland also portrays Ms. Graham, who traded a law career to stay at home with her three children and eventually work as a school district administrator in Tallahassee, as a candidate who does not represent North Florida values, is less moderate than she claims and shrugs off job creation.

“People want to be rewarded for their work and their labor,” Mr. Southerland said in an interview. “They feel that right now the federal government has encroached upon that ability.”

“This is a Democratic economy,” he added. “And they are going to have to own it.”

But some political analysts said Mr. Southerland had run a relatively lackluster campaign marked by a series of missteps that Ms. Graham has deftly used against him, particularly with female voters, a crucial constituency. Mr. Southerland complained that his salary, $174,000, considerably steeper than the wages of most people in his district, was not that high, considering the risks of the job and the loss of his business income. He also led the charge to toughen the food stamp program.

More recently, supporters sent official campaign invitations for an all-male private fund-raiser for Mr. Southerland that harked back to “the 12th century with King Arthur’s Round Table.”