Boyd may lose primary challenger

Florida state Sen. Al Lawson has confirmed to the St. Petersburg Times that he is considering switching from challenging Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) to the state chief financial officer race.

Democrats have struggled to find someone to run for outgoing CFO Alex Sink's (D) post while she runs for governor. And Lawson has found it difficult to raise the money needed to run a primary against an incumbent congressman.

Thus far, Lawson has raised just $78,000 for the race, while Boyd has $1.7 million in the bank.

If Lawson can turn things around on the fundraising front, he could give Boyd a tough challenge. Boyd's district is 22 percent African-American, and the primary electorate could be predisposed to voting for a more left-leaning black lawmaker like Lawson versus a Blue Dog like Boyd.

A somewhat similar situation played out in Rep. John Barrow's (D-Ga.) district last year, and Barrow was just fine, defeating state Sen. Regina Thomas 76-24. At the same time, it was enough of a nuisance for Barrow to solicit President Obama's help for a radio ad.

UPDATE: Lawson now says he will stick with challenging Boyd.