Looks like we aren't the only one's who don't want Katherine Harris to run. Harris is learning that even when you get your employer's brother in the White House you are not guaranteed life long devotion. I thought crime families were supposed to be loyal. Someone needs to tell the Bushes.
The White House, Gov. Jeb Bush and national Republicans are
prodding House Speaker Allan Bense into running for the U.S. Senate,
amid worries that U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris is too controversial.
Florida House Speaker Allan Bense said Thursday the White House and Gov. Jeb Bush are encouraging him to challenge Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, underscoring GOP fears that a bid by famed former Secretary of State Katherine Harris would only motivate Democrats.
Bense said he is considering a run for the seat -- despite Harris' candidacy.
A spokesman at the White House said administration officials have talked with ''several individuals'' about the race, but that President Bush, who named Harris a co-chair of his successful 2000 presidential campaign in Florida, has not taken a position.
A spokesman for the national Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is recruiting candidates for Senate seats across the country, said party leaders have been talking with Bense ''for some time'' about the 2006 election.
''We believe he'd be a great Senate candidate should he decide to run,'' spokesman Brian Nick said. Of Harris, who now represents the Sarasota area in Congress, Nick said, ``she's a great congresswoman.'' [and should stay put-editor's note]
The entreaties are the clearest signal yet that Republicans harbor deep doubts about Harris' chances of beating Nelson. Gov. Bush said he told Bense even after Harris declared that he'd make ``an awesome candidate.''
Though strategists suggested opposition from Washington could make it difficult for Harris to raise money, the two-term congresswoman from Sarasota said she was undaunted by the high-level interest in the race.
''I have always welcomed competition and healthy debate because making a difference for the people of Florida is worth fighting for,'' Harris said in a prepared statement.
Bense, who grew up poor in the Panhandle and is now a millionaire.''I've always loved competition and I always love being the underdog, and boy, those two would sure be in play in this race,'' Bense said.
The overture to Bense comes as Republicans have cast a wide net for candidates to take on Nelson, one of their leading targets.
Harris brings to the race instant name recognition, rock star status among hard-core Republicans and fundraising prowess, but some Republicans fear she's too polarizing to appeal to the crossover Democrats and independents necessary to win a general election in Florida.
Voter registration is closely divided between Democrats and Republicans -- and Democrats are eager to face Harris, who remains one of the nation's most polarizing political figures for her role in declaring President Bush the winner of the disputed 2000 election, despite an ongoing court battle.
Some Republican strategists fear Harris' name on the ballot could hurt Republicans in other races on the ballot, including the governor's race.
National Democrats are already using her presence in the race to raise money: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sent out a fundraising appeal last week, suggesting that without Harris, ``President Al Gore would be halfway through his second term by now.''
A spokesman for Nelson, who this week has waged a high-profile fight to protect Florida's coastline from oil drilling, said the freshman Democrat will take any opponent seriously.
''His view is no matter who it is, you do not take the opposition lightly or for granted, because the national Republican party has said it wants to own everything in Florida and it will spend whatever it takes to do so,'' spokesman Dan McLaughlin said. ``Whether it's Katherine or Allan or someone else, it's still going to be a tough, tough fight.''
BY LESLEY CLARK
Entire Article
Amazing. Obviously Nelson is not my favorite Senator but he is about a million times better than Harris. My problem with her is not that she is conservative but that she behaived in an unconscionable and illegal manner in 2000. It is bad enough having Mel Martinez. Floridians have been through enough. Katherine Harris, if you are reading this, leave us alone!!