Meet the man trying to unseat Marco Rubio

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., towers over other lawmakers as he clunks around the Capitol wearing massive cowboy boots and the combination of a smirk and a scowl.

On his desk sits a distinctive sign: “I HAVE FLYING MONKEYS AND I’M NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM.”

Such is the persona of the Florida Democrat alternately called crazy and the most effective member of Congress. Grayson, 58, is running for the U.S. Senate seat Marco Rubio currently holds, but first he needs to come from behind to win the Democratic primary on Aug. 30—a race many believe is the most bizarre non-presidential contest of 2016.

“It’s highly bitter and highly personal,” Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel. “It parallels what you see on every level, and it’s why so many people are tired of this election.”

While Grayson often prickles at tough questions from reporters, he embraces his reputation as one of the most brash, erratic members of the U.S. House: His Senate campaign website is SenatorWithGuts.com. In June, he used the website to solicit donations for his participation in a Democratic-led sit-in on the House floor—just one of the ways critics say he has run afoul of House ethics rules.

In 2010, Grayson garnered national coverage when he slandered his opponent, U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., distorting his speech to husbands and fathers at a Christian conference and dubbing him “Taliban Dan.” Fact-checkers dismissed the claim as false and Webster won by 18 points. But two years later, Grayson won an Orlando-area seat and returned to Congress in January 2013.

Last year, Grayson—who rails against tax dodgers—spewed profanity at a Tampa Bay Times reporter who asked why he’s stashed millions in the Cayman Islands, a known tax haven. In February, The New York Times published an expose on Grayson’s “double life” as a hedge fund manager—the subject of an ethics investigation.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., publicly called on Grayson to resign from Congress over the hedge fund issue. When Grayson confronted Reid at a meeting on Capitol Hill, Reid didn’t flinch: “It is true, and I want you to lose.”

Last month, Grayson threatened to have a Politico reporter arrested for asking a question about the domestic abuse allegations Grayson’s ex-wife made against him. The controversy—involving Grayson’s 2015 marriage annulment after 25 years and five children—led multiple liberal groups to withdraw their endorsements.

In spite of his critics, Grayson remains in the race—and his shtick resonates with many Democratic base voters. He’s amassed more than 189,000 Facebook followers and 71,000 Twitter followers, a social media following dwarfing that of many of his House colleagues. Grayson has a reputation for fighting for his constituents, and a 2013 Slate story called him the “most effective member of the House” for his ability to work with Republicans to pass legislative amendments.

“Hardly any Democrats who put in amendments put in any effort to get to 218,” Grayson said of working in a Republican-controlled Congress. “They just think they’ve accomplished something when it’s ruled in order, and that’s the end of the story.”

Grayson, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, trails primary opponent Rep. Patrick Murphy, but he is only 8 points down with a large number of undecided voters in recent surveys. In a head-to-head matchup with Rubio, Grayson does not fair much worse than Murphy: Rubio leads Murphy by about 6 points and Grayson by about 10 points.

That Grayson remains within striking distance vividly illustrates the tumultuous nature of the race, which could determine control of the Senate. Rubio at first said he wouldn’t run for reelection, but after losing the GOP nomination for president to Donald Trump, he reversed course days before the filing deadline.

Murphy, who at 33 is 25 years younger than Grayson, has had his own problems. The same week Rubio’s entry lowered his chances of winning the seat, a Florida journalist reported that Murphy had exaggerated his thin résumé—including claims to be a practicing CPA when he was actually an audit assistant.

“He’s a 33-year-old nobody who’s done nothing in his life,” Grayson told New York Magazine. “He’s never had a serious relationship, never married, no children, never had to support himself, never had a real job, and lived off a trust fund on his daddy’s yacht for the first 30 years of his life.”

Rubio does not pull punches either: “Alan Grayson is insane.”