ORLANDO, Fla. — When Orlando attorney Coleman Watson was just 41, he experienced a sudden stroke, impairing his ability to speak. At 43, he’s running for the U.S. Senate.
“To me, disability is a matter of perception,” Watson wrote in an email. “My stroke felt like I was a mouse in a maze. And in order to unlock that puzzle, I had to find the right key: speech therapy. I promised myself that when I could talk, read, and write again, then I would pay it forward. That day has come. My ability is stronger than my disability.”
Watson, an Orlando attorney, faces a tough battle in the Democratic primary, where high-profile candidate and U.S. Rep. Val Demings, also of Orlando, has already raised $4.6 million since entering the race in June. Watson’s campaign, meanwhile, so far had only a $2,525 loan from himself as of the June 30 second-quarter deadline.
