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Posted on 05/13/2006 5:35:49 AM PDT by Joe Brower
Three step forward to challenge Harris
By JEREMY "Stalker" WALLACE [jeremy.wallace@heraldtribune.com]
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (that's "SHT" for short)
May 13, 2006
A pair of Republicans with connections to some of the heaviest hitters in Washington are among three candidates challenging U.S. Senate hopeful Katherine Harris for the GOP nomination.
Orlando-area attorney William McBride, who is a family friend of White House political adviser Karl Rove, and Pinellas County developer Peter Monroe, who is a friend of Vice President Dick Cheney, both jumped into the race just hours before Friday's filing deadline.
A third candidate, LeRoy Collins Jr., the 71-year-old son of a former Florida governor, also joined the race.
"I always dreamed of being a senator and making a difference," Monroe said.
Many party insiders question the viability of any of the candidates because of their low profiles. Several said Harris would have no trouble beating them.
But Monroe said Florida House Speaker Allan Bense, who was heavily recruited by Gov. Jeb Bush to get in the race, is also unknown to most voters.
Monroe said his phone began ringing Wednesday after Bense announced that he would not challenge Harris.
"I got a call from Washington -- from a legend -- who said 'why don't you do it,'" Monroe said.
Monroe wouldn't say who the call came from.
The 62-year-old Safety Harbor resident said he used to have lunch regularly with Cheney before he became vice president. Monroe also said he started his Washington career in 1972 working for Donald Rumsfeld, now secretary of defense.
A fifth candidate nearly entered the race. State Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, said he was on the road to Tallahassee to file when he heard Monroe and McBride were getting in. Knowing that McBride has ties to Rove, whom many consider one of the best political strategists in the country, Ross said he had a change of heart.
"I just turned around and headed back home," Ross said.
Neither McBride nor Collins returned phone calls seeking comment Friday.
The flurry of candidate announcements stunned Republican insiders in Florida. Republican Party of Florida officials said they couldn't comment on any of the three candidates because they didn't know enough about them.
Many party regulars said it would be a shock if Harris has trouble beating any of the little-known candidates. Despite Harris' early campaign troubles, she still is one of the best-known Republicans in the state.
"I don't think she'll lose to any of them," said Republican political consultant J.M. "Mac" Stipanovich. "They'll make her spend money and could say some unkind things about her."
A spokesman for Harris' campaign said Harris would have preferred to not have a primary foe, but will rise to the challenge.
"With a tremendous base of support, we expect to be victorious in September and November," said Harris spokesman Chris Ingram.
For almost a year, influential Republicans, including Gov. Jeb Bush, have been scouting for an alternative to Harris, fearing she had stumbled too much to challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.
Polls show Harris trails Nelson by 32 percentage points, and she has struggled to raise campaign money. Since February, Harris has been trying to distance herself from a corrupt defense contractor who admitted in federal court to trying to influence her with $32,000 in illegal campaign donations.
Republican consultant David E. Johnson of Atlanta said he was stunned to hear the three obscure candidates were the only ones to file. Not only did the party fail to get a weakened Harris out of the race, but they damaged her further by having Gov. Jeb Bush openly question her chances over the last two weeks, Johnson said.
The new candidates will further weaken her by forcing her to spend money that should be used on Nelson, he said.
"This is an embarrassment for the Republican Party of Florida," Johnson said.
New York Times Regional reporter Bill Rufty contributed to this story.
Is she not of their idealogue?
Or do we now eat our own members alive?
Couldn't someone have drafted Alan Keyes to move to the Sunshine State?
May as well hurt the transplant rather than the hometown gal.
Result will be the same.
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