Free Republic

Thursday, August 24, 2006 JUNO BEACH — LeRoy Collins Jr. — a retired two-star admiral and son of the man considered Florida's first modern governor — tells audiences he's best known now as "one of the guys running against Katherine Harris." Collins, 71, of Tampa, used that line Wednesday as he addressed about 60 people at the Waterford retirement community in Juno Beach. "Everybody knows who Katherine Harris is, and a lot of those reasons are the wrong reasons," said Collins, one of three candidates running against Harris in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate nomination. Harris, a two-term...

NORTH REDINGTON BEACH (2006-08-04) SOUND: Before we begin, and I want to remind everyone - especially our four speakers - of the great admonition of Ronald Reagan: Republicans never speak ill of each other. We save that for the Democrats. Apparently, no one told LeRoy Collins about GOP etiquette. The retired admiral and son of the former governor lets his views of the front-runner be known to all. COLLINS: The notoriety that she's gotten for our party has gotten, in my opinion, has infected us all So on this occasion, I would like to suggest to her that she...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Marks August 1, 2006 (813) 288-8400 Keep supporting Israel Harris condemns Hezbollah inhumanity Tampa, FL – Representative Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, supports Israel’s right to defend itself against militant Islamic terrorists, and its right to live freely in the one true democracy in the Middle East. Harris urges the civilized world to hold Hezbollah accountable for its despicable and cowardly tactics, most notably the use of civilian populations as human shields in its ongoing jihad against the State of Israel. Congresswoman Harris notes, “The people of Israel have already conceded...

(AP) ORLANDO, Fla. A political strategist who left U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' Senate campaign last month said Harris ignored her staff's recommendation to reject a defense contractor's $10 million appropriation request, now being challenged by a congressional watchdog group. Harris insisted the request be submitted even though it was late and hard to understand, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel's Thursday editions. The newspaper cites Harris' former chief political strategist Ed Rollins. "She told them she wanted it done," Rollins told the paper. "And she wanted it done now." Harris spokesman Chris Ingram declined to comment Thursday...

As the Republican U.S. Senate primary heads into its final 10 days, many voters are now paying attention - just in time for a blast of critical ads aimed at undecided voters. Doug Gallagher, a wealthy Miami business executive, launched a radio ad calling himself a "successful businessman" and labeling rivals Bill McCollum and Mel Martinez "the M&M boys." He called McCollum "a lobbyist beholden to special interests" and Martinez the "president of the trial lawyers." "We've tried it their way. Now let's try it our way," says Gallagher, who is financing his campaign with nearly $6-million of his own...

TALLAHASSEE · Robust, early leads by the Democratic and Republican front-runners in the race to become the next U.S. senator from Florida have narrowed sharply, according to a new statewide poll that shows the 12-candidate race has tightened into a five-person sprint. With television advertisements for the race beginning to hit the airwaves, the survey of likely voters conducted for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Florida Times-Union newspapers puts Betty Castor ahead of Peter Deutsch among Democrats, and Bill McCollum over Mel Martinez and Doug Gallagher at the top of the eight-candidate Republican field. After months of quiet preparations...

A tale of 2 trial lawyers Published July 8, 2004 Both men have that down-home charm and populist appeal. They came from humble beginnings, worked hard and achieved. And both are seen by many in their respective political parties to be the key to the White House in at least one pivotal state -- Florida. But that's where the similarities end between Florida's Republican Senate candidate Mel Martinez and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the Democrats' new golden boy. [....} Though Edwards and Martinez are like night and day when it comes to their political beliefs, Senate Republican hopeful Bill...