Rising Democratic Party star sets up blockbuster Southwest Florida race against incumbent Republican.

Sarasota state Rep. Margaret Good — a rising star among Florida Democrats — told the Herald-Tribune Sunday that she will challenge U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan for his seat next year, a move that makes Southwest Florida one of the preeminent congressional battlegrounds in 2020.

Good’s decision to leave the Florida Legislature after just one term gives Democrats a top-tier candidate to take on Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, and puts the race on the national radar, with big money likely to flow in as Democrats seek to stay on offense and expand on the 40 House seats they picked up in 2018.

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An attorney, Good has proven to be a skilled and relentless campaigner. Her first race — a special election to fill a vacancy in the state House District 72 seat — attracted national attention.

Good raised big money and built a strong grassroots campaign on her way to beating Republican James Buchanan — Vern Buchanan’s son — in a district that Trump carried by more than four percentage points. The victory was viewed as a national bellwether that signaled the coming blue wave. She repeated the performance nine months later, defending the seat against former GOP state Rep. Ray Pilon in the November general election.

Those back-to-back wins marked Good as someone to watch in Florida politics, and she immediately was tapped for a leadership position in the House Democratic caucus.

But Democrats are badly outnumbered in the Florida House, and the opportunities to advance policy ideas are limited. Good said she hopes to have a bigger impact on the issues she cares about — from health care to environmental protection and a strong public education system — by winning Florida’s District 16 congressional seat, which includes Manatee County and portions of Sarasota and Hillsborough counties.

“Over the last year I’ve realized it’s not just my state House district that deserves better representation, it’s all of us,” Good said in an interview Sunday. “I have seen that there are issues all across our region that are not being appropriately addressed.”

Good said she wants to make prescription drug prices more affordable, improve water quality and address climate change, among other issues. But she faces an uphill climb in trying to knock off Buchanan, who has fended off a series of well-funded Democratic challengers over the years.

That Buchanan keeps attracting strong opponents is somewhat remarkable considering that he repeatedly has dispatched his Democratic competitors, and with increasing ease. His toughest race was his first one in 2006 against Sarasota banker Christine Jennings. He won that contest by just 369 votes after a recount.

Buchanan beat Jennings again in 2008, defeated former Sarasota state Rep. Keith Fitzgerald in 2012 and last year bested Siesta Key attorney David Shapiro.

Buchanan’s margin of victory has grown in each of the four competitive races he has faced. He won by nine percentage points against Shapiro in a district that Trump carried by double digits.

“It’s a different year and I am a different person,” Good said when asked why she thinks she can succeed where other Democrats have failed. “I work incredibly hard for the people I represent, and I believe people appreciate that and want that kind of representation.”

Buchanan has tried to neutralize potential critics by working to sell himself as an independent leader, bucking Trump on issues such as the environment, even as he largely has supported the president, including refusing to criticize Trump last week when he tweeted that four congresswomen of color should leave the country, comments that many claimed were racist. Buchanan voted against a resolution condemning Trump’s comments as racist.

Buchanan has a number of advantages, including an extensive political network built up over 13 years in office. He also is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, having founded a printing business and gone on to invest in car dealerships, real estate and other ventures.

But Democrats hope the political climate will be favorable in 2020, with the party eager to push back against Trump. And they believe Good could be the ideal challenger in many ways. Buchanan’s toughest opponent was Jennings, a moderate professional woman.

Good also is a professional woman who has tried to stake out some moderate positions. During her first campaign she did not support establishing a $15 statewide minimum wage, leading the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida to pull its endorsement of her. She also favored strengthening the Affordable Care Act over establishing a Medicare for All system for health care coverage.

Critics questioned whether she could claim to be a centrist when, after the Parkland school shooting, she voted against compromise school safety legislation that included gun control measures but allowed school districts to arm certain teachers. The bill was supported by some Democrats.

Buchanan likely will try to paint Good as extreme, something he did with Shapiro. Buchanan’s campaign said Shapiro supported a “socialist agenda,” despite his relatively moderate positions.

Asked Sunday about whether she supports Medicare for All, Good said, “I will do whatever I can to make sure we are decreasing the cost of health care … But I don’t think there is a blanket three-word slogan that’s going to solve those problems.”

And she did not endorse the idea of impeaching Trump.

“There are concerns that our election system is compromised,” she said. “I take that very seriously, but there’s a process in place that guides the investigation. The checks and balance in government are really the underpinning of our democracy. We have to have faith in them and let the process work.”

Good, 42, is married without children. She works for the politically connected law firm of Matthews Eastmoore.

Good’s law firm office is in downtown Sarasota on Ringling Avenue, directly across the street from Buchanan’s Sarasota office.