Florida GOP finally backs Harris
By Dustin Hawkins
TOWNHALL
Feb 3, 2006
It took almost eight months, but Florida’s U.S. Senate-hopeful Katherine Harris finally got the backing she's been waiting for. Harris, the Republican congresswoman of Election 2000 fame/infamy, had been running a self-propelled campaign since last June, when top state and national Republican leaders not only refused to endorse her, but also tried to recruit around her.
That all changed two weeks ago during the Republican Party of Florida’s quarterly meeting when popular Governor Jeb Bush announced that he would be campaigning for Harris during the next ten months. Lieutenant Governor Toni Jennings came out swinging for Harris as well. The former secretary of state is hoping to unseat current Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat finishing his first term, but she trails in both the polling data and funding. Republicans are hoping that Harris’ new support will help her improve in both categories and make the race interesting.
Harris received lower-than-expected levels of support from Florida Republicans in samples taken before the endorsement of top party leaders. If Bush holds true to his promise to campaign hard for Harris, it would not be out of the question that Harris could pull within striking range of Nelson, though the lasting effect of the rough campaign start is yet to be determined.
Van Hilleary Disuptes Underdog Status
On the heels of my column last week, former congressman Van Hilleary sent me a note rejecting the idea that he is the underdog for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate being vacated by Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). “Ed Bryant is not close to the frontrunner in the Republican Primary. No one in [Tennessee] even comes close to thinking that,” he wrote. Putting aside the fact that I am a Tennessee resident, I am also not the first person in the state to view Hilleary as the underdog.
I had unceremoniously pegged Ed Bryant, also a former congressman, as the slight favorite based on the limited polls that are available, my contacts in the state, recent fundraising activity, and the quality of endorsements that each candidate has received. Of course, anything can happen during the next ten months as Hilleary, Bryant, and Bob Corker, a former Chattanooga Mayor, will be battling for the nomination.
Hilleary also brushed off the idea that many Republicans in the state want him to switch to the gubernatorial contest to force a re-match of the 2002 election between him and Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen. Hilleary narrowly lost the first election, but apparently is not interested in giving it a second go. Instead, he says, the only people who want him to run for governor are Bryant supporters who “realize that my entry into the race puts Ed in a distant second place with no where to go but down.” He also said that Bryant would soon be in third place for the nomination as Corker begins to rise.
In related news, the most recent Rasmussen poll shows all three Republican candidates have a small lead against Democrat frontrunner Harold Ford. Van Hilleary edges Ford by five points while both Bryant and Corker have an advantage of two points. This shows an improvement for Corker who had previously trailed Ford by 3 points.
GOP has Two House Seats in Florida to Defend
With Florida Republican Congressmen Michael Bilirakis of the ninth Congressional District retiring and Katherine Harris of CD-13 running for the U.S. Senate, the GOP is left to defend two open seats in the state. Bilirakis, who has been in the House of Representatives since 1982, has pegged the perfect candidate to replace him: his son. Gus Bilirakis, currently a state representative, looks solid to takeover the seat that his father has held for 24 years.
Meanwhile, Democrats are putting a great deal of effort into Harris’s open seat, a seemingly futile endeavor. CD-13 is one of the more solid Republican districts in Florida but the national Democratic Party seems to be inspired by recent “close” races in the district. A close race in CD-13 is losing by 10 points, the margin that Harris held in 2002 and 2004.
One candidate getting plenty of support for the Democratic nomination is retired banker Christine Jennings, a former Republican and moderate. However, bringing in liberal Barbara Boxer (D-CA) for a heavily promoted, $1,000 per person fund-raiser will not exactly attract a large number of red-state Floridians.
Dustin Hawkins is a Townhall.com political reporter. |
