The recent upset victory by Republican candidate David Jolly for the open seat in Florida’s 13th Congressional District, a district carried by Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, has produced a rush of excitement in Republican circles.

This victory, coupled with polling data — Americans are increasingly unhappy with our president, with his signature health care law, with an economy still far from recovery, and with perceived weak American leadership on the international stage – is producing Republican optimism about 2014 midterm election prospects and about 2016.