The results in Florida-19 are a mixed bag for Democrats.  Obviously in the big picture, its a win, which is what ultimately matters.  Democrat Ted Deutch defeated Republican Ed Lynch handily, 62%-35%.  This was off the margins by which Robert Wexler typically won the district and by which Barack Obama and John Kerry carried the district, but not by much.  In races for Virginia Governor, New Jersey Governor, Massachusetts Senate, and California's Tenth District, the Democrats had all run about ten points behind Barack Obama.   So to run only four points behind Obama is a good thing.  It's even better news for Democrats when you consider that, in this heavily elderly, heavily Jewish district, we might expect concerns about ObamaCare and Obama's attitude toward Israel to manifest heavily.  But they didn't.

But there are some odd things in the results.  In 2008, Wexler carried Palm Beach County, 67%-27%, and Broward County 65%-27%.  This year, Deutch carried Palm Beach County 64%-33%.  But his margin dropped significantly in the Palm Beach segment of the district, to 54%-43%. I'm not 100% certain what caused the disparity.  I think it's probably because Deutch's Senate district is based in Palm Beach County, and the district was more of a Palm Beach district under the 1992 districting (when Deutch's father represented the area), thus establishing more of a unique "brand" in the area.  But I'm not certain.

In any event, what this race was always about, in my mind, was the neighboring 22nd district.  There, Ron Klein represents a Congressional district that is much more Republican, and is much more evenly divided between the two counties.  If Klein suffers a 2-3% dropoff in Palm Beach County, and an10-11% dropoff in Broward County, it becomes very difficult for him to win.  And if Deutch's losses in Palm Beach County were mitigated by his family name, then Klein could be in a world of hurt.  Still, in the short term and absent a better explanation for the Palm Beach County results, this is good news for the Democrats.

--------------------------------------------
Follow the RCP Blog on Twitter.
Become a fan of RCP on Facebook.
--------------------------------------------