Scott Plakon, the Lucky Charm Legislator

They put athletes on Wheaties boxes. Maybe they
should replace the leprechaun with Scott Plakon?

There's being in the right place at the right time, and then there's Florida State Representative Scott Plakon.

Plakon seems to be a lucky charm for presidential candidates: within 24 hours of his endorsement, things start going well for that candidate - very well.

Last September, it was Herman Cain who reaped the benefits of Plakon's nod of approval at the Presidency 5/CPAC Florida events in Orlando. Plakon announced his endorsement of Cain to a packed room of supporters Friday evening, and the very next day, Cain won Florida's Presidency 5 straw poll, igniting a national media frenzy and launching him to the top of the polls for a few months late last year.

As I wrote back in September, Plakon is "the exact type of state leader Republican presidential candidates should want on their team." He was the 2011 State Representative of the Year for Americans for Prosperity's Florida chapter, has a consistently conservative voting record, and is well-liked by pretty much everyone who's ever met him. Plakon has managed to earn both solid credentials with tea party organizations around the state, but also recognition and respect from major social and fiscal conservative groups and leaders.

This week, it was Rick Santorum who earned the nod from Plakon Thursday morning, and then he went on to give one of his best debate performances of the election. Whether he will be able to build momentum this late in the game to surge ahead is yet to be determined (personally, I'm not optimistic on that issue), but he is enjoying a small boost in the Florida polls now. We won't know for sure until Tuesday evening.

Tweet from Plakon announcing the endorsement:

Just endorsed @RickSantorum for POTUS. Same values. #sayfieThu Jan 26 16:27:48 via HootSuiteScott Plakon
scottplakon

And one from Santorum, along with a link to this press release announcing the endorsement:

Scott Plakon is a leader in the fight against health care mandates. I appreciate his endorsement! http://t.co/rp2br2kz #flgopSat Jan 28 02:50:06 via HootSuiteRick Santorum
RickSantorum

Note that the title of Santorum's press release is "Influential Conservative Florida State Legislator Stands With Santorum." Not a bad label to have: "influential conservative."

Stacy McCain, blogger at The Other McCain and Santorum supporter, has a nice post about Plakon's endorsement, along with a video interview with Plakon in the spin room after the debate:


YouTube | Scott Plakon Supporting Rick Santorum

One thing I like about Scott Plakon: he always makes his decisions based on principle. I'm not personally supporting Santorum for president, but I understand and completely respect Plakon's reasons for doing so. If everyone approached politics and voting the way that Plakon does, our country would be a lot better off.