Posted on 05/12/2006 7:26:16 AM PDT by Joe Brower
Challenger for Harris still possible
Professor predicts GOP will "try to get somebody in there"
By JEREMY "Stalker" WALLACE [jeremy.wallace@heraldtribune.com] and JOE "Hitman" FOLLICK [jfollick@earthlink.net]
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
May 12, 2006
With hours remaining until today's filing deadline, Republicans were still unsure whether another candidate would emerge to challenge Longboat Key Republican Katherine Harris for the U.S. Senate nomination.
On Thursday, Republican Party of Florida officials again refused to say whether Harris would be their candidate in November to take on Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat. A party spokesman said the party will "wait and see" what happens by today's noon deadline.
Even though Florida House Speaker Allan Bense turned down requests by Gov. Jeb Bush and other party leaders to challenge Harris in a Sept. 5 primary, there were signs party leaders were still scouting for a last-minute challenger to Harris.
"They are going to try to get somebody in there," said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida.
Republicans have grown increasingly concerned about Harris' chances of beating Nelson, and fear she's done so poorly she can hurt other Republican candidates on the November ballot.
Little-known state Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, emerged Thursday as the latest name to surface in the GOP rumor mill as a possible challenger for Harris. Ross said Thursday that Republican leaders approached him last weekend about a possible run. But when he and Gov. Jeb Bush discussed the matter briefly on Monday, Bush said Bense would enter the race.
Bense, however, announced on Wednesday that he wouldn't jump in the race. After his announcement, Ross said he began receiving calls immediately, including one from Republican Party of Florida Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan.
Ross acknowledged Thursday afternoon that a campaign would be "very, very difficult," but he was considering if his entry would provide the party with a better chance of defeating Nelson.
"I'm not saying I'm the one that can save it, but with my commitment to the party, I can't just sit back and say, 'So, we lose,'" he said.
Polls have shown Harris trailing Nelson by as much as 32 percentage points, and she has struggled to raise money for the campaign.
She also has struggled to distance herself from questions about her dealings with a corrupt defense contractor, who in February admitted in court to giving her $32,000 in illegal campaign donations.
Ross said he had not heard back from Bush by late Thursday afternoon.
"I think they're tired of wooing everybody," he said.
The pressures on Ross were exacerbated by the fading health of his mother. Ross was at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa on Thursday awaiting updates on her condition.
Ross opted against a run this year for the state's chief financial officer post, saying such a run would have forced him to liquidate his shares of his law firm. The run for Senate would not create that conflict of interest, he said.
Ross was realistic about his chances, saying he didn't want to be a "sacrificial lamb," but also noted the benefits of garnering the experience and the party's good will for future campaigns.
"That's the upside of the downside," Ross said.
P.S.: The fact that she's such a "lightning rod" for leftist hatred not a valid reason. That didn't stop her from winning election to the House in both 2002 and 2004.
nelson could have been easily defeated by a decent GOP candidate
Dittos on that
And disgusting creatures like Ted Kennedy, Patrick Leahy, et al, are?
I'm not buying it. Personally, I wish she had waited. But being sabotaged by her own party simply because she didn't kiss their butt has no honor in it.
If nothing else, this just starkly demonstrates how far-distanced the state GOP has become from it's electorate, not to mention their arrogance.
It's going to cost them. It already has.
Just another indication of the current cowardice of the Republican stable.
Too much hassle for good people to step up and lead.
The quality of representation in Congress continues to decline.
Ditto. I am getting sick and tired of so-called Republicans complaining that Harris can't win, yet offering no solutions themselves. Isn't that the way Democrats behave?
Ditto. I am getting sick and tired of so-called Republicans complaining that Harris can't win, yet offering no solutions themselves. Isn't that the way Democrats behave?
She was all but bullied and begged not to run and it's her fault there's no support? That's the exact reason we have the problem we do with the rinos in Congress; people who believe that Senators are lords and that some are not worthy to hold the office. She is as valid a candidate as anyone. The Florida Republican party really needs a kick in the ass.
What happened to all those people who say "hold your nose and vote"?
sad but true
that's not the issue. she's a nice person who apparently couldn't or wouldn't see the obvious : there has never been any evidence she would be THE candidate to beat nelson, who is very beatable
Yep. On the Democrat side, the same mistake by Denise Majette allowed Moonbat McKinney to squirm back into Congress.
But....but where's the obligatory pneumatic torso profile photo of the lovely MS Harris?
Isn't it required on all of her threads?
You got that right bring them on. I'm voting for Harris.
You got that right bring them on. I'm voting for Harris.
No. Got anything useful to contribute?
Can Porter Goss still make it?
Does his stock not go up with the lefties being fired by Bush? Assuming none of the other rumors are true.
What makes you think it was 'simply' because she didn't kiss butt? Independent of butt kissing, lots of folks figured her to be a poor candidate who is in over her head. Specifically what makes you think it was all about butt kissing, and not more about her very public gaffes?
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