Bill Nelson behind Crist and Gallagher in latest poll.

http://www.nationalreview.com/beltway/beltwaybuzz.asp ^ | Beltway Buzz

[The Great Yazoo]

She needs to take herself out of the race now so a good candidate can get in.

These polls and the comments they engender remind me of the national polls that say John McCain is the only Republican who can win the 2008 presidential election. The fact of the matter is John McCain cannot win because people who would otherwise vote Republican will stay home.

Gallagher and Crist turn enough Republican stomachs that their nomination almost certainly means Nelson squeaks in again. Nelson, Gallagher, and Crist constitute either an entire wardrobe of empty suits, evidence of the poverty of Florida's education system, or the revival of the Three Stooges, take your pick.

Katherine Harris is (despite what you may understand from Indiana) a relative newcomer to politics. Her family connections alone ensure certain levels of business support that would ordinarily go to Democrats.

As a southwest Florida congressman, Harris appeals to the same folks who elected Connie Mack III to the senate. She represents similar appeals: consistent conservatism, relatively youthful appearance, and family connections. While both are (were) derided as blunt knives in the drawer by the Democrats, you have to remember that Janet Reno constitutes brilliance in that quarter.

Jeb would probably win if he ran, which he says he won't. I am less convinced that he won't than I am convinced that he shouldn't.

[The Old Hoosier]

I wish Jeb would run. Harris is no newcomer, though. She was Sec of State, remember?

And she's not a conservative either.

[The Great Yazoo]

Katherine Harris is at least as conservative as Jeb. Service as Secretary of State and member of the U.S. House of Representatives nothwithstanding, Harris remains a "relative" newcomer.

[mwl1]

Agreed. Harris would be the easiest Republican for Nelson to defeat, followed by McCollum. Both need to stay out of the race if Nelson is to be defeated.

As to demagoguery on social security, the hysteria, the shrill of the 2006 campaign from the left and its media handmaidens has yet to begin. RATS intend to turn GOP into Scrooge in 2006 on this issue. Whether they are successful or not is another matter.

[papertyger]

The way Florida has been trending, any Democrat should be in trouble. The fact that he is down early may be a good sign, but there is a long way to go.

Nelson is the last of the "good old boy" network of floridia crackers that win independent of party. I'm cautiously optimistic, but DO NOT consider him "in trouble."

I'm overjoyed he's the last though.

[Kuksool]

I'd to see a poll involving Gen. Tommy Franks. That would be awesome to have a real military man in the Senate. He could whip the Republicans into shape.

[Kuksool]

Social Security reform doesn't scare FL seniors like it does in other states (IA, PA). The Sunshine elders are more wealthier than your average senior.

[Recovering_Democrat]

BILL NELSON IS NO CONSERVATIVE!

No matter how much he helps the Boy Scouts or pretends to be a "new Democrat!"