He's one of the Florida Legislature's most powerful Republicans, and one of its most partisan.
She's a well-known former TV anchor who praises the collegial style of the late Republican Sen. Jim King.

John Thrasher, Jim King's successor, took on the state's teachers union and cleaned house at the Republican Party of Florida.

Deborah Gianoulis tweets from Jacksonville Jaguars games and tweaks Thrasher for wielding a "hammer" of "top-down" leadership.

At the geographic heart of Senate District 8 is Jacksonville, but there's more to it than that. The district covers parts of Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, Flagler and Volusia counties -- in short, it stretches along the Atlantic and almost reaches south to Daytona Beach.

The fight for SD 8 might seem like a David-and-Goliath battle, pitting a well-connected lobbyist/lawyer against a political neophyte. Indeed, voter demographics and campaign cash appear to be stacked heavily for the incumbent.

Running for re-election in a district that has 46,000 more Republicans than Democrats, and having raised $414,898 in cash to Gianoulis' $94,749, Thrasher seems like the odds-on favorite.

As if those advantages weren't enough, Democrats face strong headwinds in this midterm election as Republican turnouts surge, fueled by a bad economy and tea party activism.

Still, Thrasher isn't taking Gianoulis lightly. Nor should he.

The former House speaker and current RPOF chairman won a special election to fill King's SD 8 seat in 2009. Gianoulis has lived in the district for 34 years, and she is a household name there -- even if that name is tricky to pronounce (Gee-a-NO-lis).

"People know me. They've known me unscripted for years," the former TV newswoman says.

What's more, Gianoulis calls the Jacksonville-area Senate district "a moderate Republican district," declaring, "I'm a moderate Democrat.

"The district was drawn for Jim King, and his greatest threat was from the right. I will bring the reach-across-the-aisle approach that he demonstrated," she says.

Thrasher -- who describes himself as a "fiscally conservative, pro-life Republican" -- will challenge Gianoulis' "moderate" position by bringing up the federal health-care law, the federal response to Arizona's immigration enforcement and the fate of the Bush tax cuts due to expire at year's end.

He is convinced that "Democrats will pay a price" on those issues this fall.

"A lot of what's going on in Washington has a direct impact on this state and has to be answered," Thrasher says.

Gianoulis calls Florida's lawsuit over the health-care law "frivolous"; she blames Republicans for failing to enact immigration "reform," and she acknowledges that "working families need help," without getting into specifics.

Kenneth Quinnell, executive director of the liberal Florida Progressive Coalition, says Gianoulis can withstand the GOP onslaught "if she can raise the money."

In disposing of primary opponent, Dr. Charles Perniciaro, Thrasher's cash on hand dwindled to $58,817, according to his Aug. 18 campaign finance report.

Gianoulis, who had no primary opposition, reported $83,972 cash on hand. She also received nearly $50,000 worth of in-kind support from the state Democratic Party in the form of campaign staff and organization.

Thrasher obviously has his own party pipeline, and he has much deeper pockets. His years as a lobbyist give him access to corporate PAC and 527 funds -- which are contributing more freely to Republicans this year.

"By end of the day, we'll be OK," he says.