GOP increases efforts against Rep. Kosmas, adding two of her foes to fundraising program

The GOP’s efforts to take down Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.) entered a new stage Thursday, with the national Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) adding two candidates in her district to its Young Guns program.

The new members of the program are former Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse CEO Craig Miller and Winter Park City Commissioner Karen Diebel. They will both start at the first of three stages of the program, “on the radar.”

Miller recently entered the race as a top recruit for the GOP and someone the NRCC hopes can raise plenty of funds for the race. Diebel has been in the race for months but had yet to raise the kind of money the party wanted from a top recruit.

The fact that both were added to the program the day after the end of the first quarter fundraising period ended suggests they turned in strong numbers for the first three months of 2010. No official number are yet available.

Other candidates in the primary, including state Rep. Sandy Adams, have not been added to the program. The primary is Aug. 24.