Katherine Harris, key figure in Fla. recount, won't run for U.S. Senate
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Rep. Katherine Harris, who was reviled by Democrats for her role in the 2000 presidential election, said Friday she will not enter the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris is expected to run for re-election to the House.
By Jonathan Fredin, AP Photo/Charlotte Sun-Herald
Harris has decided instead to run for re-election, but she made it clear that she plans to run for the Senate in the future.
"So after careful deliberation I am here to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate," Harris said to steady applause from about 75 supporters in her hometown. "But just not yet this year."
As Florida secretary of state, Harris oversaw the disputed count that gave George W. Bush a crucial 537-vote victory over Al Gore in Florida, drawing the ire of Democrats nationally and parodies on late-night television shows.
Harris said all along that she simply followed the letter of the law, but she became a darling of Republican activists afterward and was elected last year to Congress.
However, President Bush's political advisers have feared her candidacy would refresh memories of the recount, generating a large turnout from angry Democrats and hurting his chances of carrying the state. Florida's 27 electoral votes are expected to be crucial in the 2004 presidential contest.
Harris has said she has been encouraged to seek retiring Democratic Sen. Bob Graham's seat, buoyed by favorable polls showing her as the early front-runner.
A poll released last month by The Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times found that Harris had the support of 29% of GOP voters, followed by former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum with 15%, and former U.S. Housing Secretary Mel Martinez with 11%. Thirty-eight% were undecided. The telephone survey of 800 registered voters had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
Harris' fame since the recount helped her amass nearly $3 million for her 2002 congressional campaign. Through the end of the September fund-raising period, she had nearly $350,000 on hand, funds that could be transferred to a Senate race.
Democrats have expressed hope that Harris would enter the race, arguing it would enhance fund-raising and focus more attention on the campaign.
"The race won't be the subject of Jay Leno and David Letterman. But I don't think that's going to change one way or the other what we are going to do," said Jeff Garcia, campaign manager for Democratic Senate candidate Betty Castor.
Castor, a former state Education Commissioner from Tampa, is running against U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch of Lauderhill and Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas for the Democratic nomination. |
