Posted on 02/14/2006 8:59:28 AM PST by Neville72
Florida Senate: Republicans Supporting Harris
Survey of 500 Likely Voters
February 6, 2006
Election 2006
Florida Senator
Bill Nelson (D) 49% Katherine Harris (R) 40% RasmussenReports.com
February 14, 2006--In recent weeks, several Republican political leaders in Florida have stopped trying to push Katherine Harris out of the U.S. Senate campaign and decided to support her efforts. Governor Jeb Bush, Lt. Governor Toni Jennings, and members of the state's Congressional delegation have indicated that they will campaign for Harris.
Rank-and-file Republicans have made the adjustment as well. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of GOP voters now plan to vote for Harris in November. That's up from 59% in early January and matches Senator Bill Nelson's support among Democrats.
Overall, however, Harris still trails Nelson by nine percentage points, 49% to 40% (see crosstabs). Among voters not affiliated with either the Republicans or Democrats, Harris trails badly, 64% to 18%.
Forty-four percent (44%) of Florida voters now have a favorable opinion of Harris, up from 34% a month ago. Forty percent (40%) have an unfavorable opinion.
Nelson is viewed favorably by 53% and unfavorably by 27%.
Visit the Rasmussen Reports Election Polls page to see a summary of our latest state-by state polling.
CrossTabs for this survey are available for Premium Forty-seven percent (47%) of Florida voters say economic issues are more important than the War in Iraq. Forty percent (40%) say Iraq is more important.
Visit our Election Polls page to see a summary of our latest state-by state polling. Rasmussen Reports is polling every Senate and Governors' race at least once a month this year.
CrossTabs for this survey are available for Premium Members.
Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.
The Rasmussen Reports ElectionEdgeTM Premium Service for Election 2006 offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a mid-term election. We are polling every Senate and Governor's race at least once a month. We also update the President's Job Approval on a daily basis.
Rasmussen Reports was the nation's most accurate polling firm during the Presidential election and the only one to project both Bush and Kerry's vote total within half a percentage point of the actual outcome.
During Election 2004, RasmussenReports.com was also the top-ranked public opinion research site on the web. We had twice as many visitors as our nearest competitor and nearly as many as all competitors combined.
Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.
The telephone survey of 500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports February 6, 2006. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4.5 percentage points at the midpoint with a 95% level of confidence (see Methodology).
I didn't quite mean to imply that merely pointing out one's opponent's voting record is going negative. I meant to say that Nelson will need to be personally villified to drive his negatives up beyond where Harris's currently are. If you can win an election without going negative, that's fine, but in more iffy contests where there is a misconception that our liberal opponents are "in the mainstream" when they clearly vote anything but, we need to be absolutely ruthless in defining them. After all, it's exactly what the liberal 'Rats do. When Saxby Chambliss went after incumbent GA Sen. Max Cleland and made him look soft on national security and defense, it did just the trick to unseat him, and the 'Rats squealed like stuffed piggies. Well, they like to think we're mean-spirited, why not act exactly the way they make us out to be, because it sure seems to work in winning ! ;-)
I still have trouble figuring out why Bill McCollum fared so poorly in that race.
A congressman with nearly two decades of accomplishment behind him, a conservative leader on issues ranging from law & order, to immigration, abortion, affirmative action, and even a house manager during the Clinton impeachment saga, one of the most outstanding in my opinion, next to Henry Hyde and James Sensenbrenner.
Why did such an articulate, compelling candidate do so much worse than President Bush in that state?
Whoops. Let your true feelings slip out. And you were doing so well!
And in your misguided mindset I don't feel superior, I look at my two kids and realize the kind of government they are going to get.
I also look at my two kids. I realize that they are now growing up in a culture promoting life instead of abortion, their parents are paying less taxes, their country is fighting back against Islamofascism after sitting idly by for so many years, and conservatives are being appointed to the bench. All thanks to one party. Care to guess which one? (Hint: It ain't the LP, Democrats, Greens, or Conservative party)
And you said it better, too!
This can't be said enough. Too many folks here losing sight of the big picture and getting caught up in the minutia of a single issue. Maybe they don't remember what it was like before Reagan. For whatever reasons they've chosen to ignore all the upside of the past 5 years. It's sad. I don't think most of these whiners ever really voted republican in the first place. They just like to complain that the Republican Party left them. JMO, but I think the unappeasables tend to be dishonest about what really motivates them.
I think you've hit it with the motivation thing: some folks are just naturally inclined to focus on the negative. A "What have you done for me lately?" syndrome. But, we all have our vetoes - pet issues. For instance, I would have a great deal of difficulty supporting a fiscally sound tax cutter who supports a strong national defense if he/she were pro abortion.
Very true, and I fully understand these conflicts however, I am truly surprised when I see FReepers say they may choose to vote for Nelson, or stay home, instead of supporting Harris. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Nelson earned a "4" from the ACU in 2004. He's against everything we're for. These people, IMO, are just malcontents who want to stir things up - for whatever reason.
I would have a great deal of difficulty supporting a fiscally sound tax cutter who supports a strong national defense if he/she were pro abortion.
Agreed. We may be tested by this in 2008. All the more reason to be glad we currently control the courts. Stevens may not last the full term. It's the libs worst nightmare. Electing Harris gives us one more vote towards the magic number 60.
Two months into the campaign, I realized his was one of poorest campaigns ever organized. He had one of the worst staffs I've ever had to work with. He never got his name out, and 75% of the voters in this huge state knew virtually nothing about him, and most didn't even recognize his name.
He was soft on some conservative issues, including gun control.
He was a humdrum, lackluster, boring candidate on the stump. His followers were not excited about him. I don't think he was even excited about himself. I believe he knew all along that he was outmatched and was only going through the motions.
As an aside, just before the election, freeper Pete Kessler attended a Florida east coast McCollum indoor rally just before election. Afterwards, Pete asked McC if he knew how hard the freeper chapter was working for him, including donating money. Pete was gobsmacked when he realized that the Free Republic name, or even "freeper", was totally unknown to the hapless candidate.
The day after McCollum lost, his campaign workers fled, no thank-you's were sent out by his PR person, and that was the end of that.....thank God. It was 7 months of hell dealing with his campaign.
In short, he really never had a chance from the beginning. Nice guy, a minimum of political smarts, no charisma.
Leni/MinuteGal
Do you think in a they were still setup like running a campaign in a congressional district, and just wasn't ready for the big leagues, or totally out of sorts and never ready for a statewide run? Just curious.
Go, Katherine! Is she sending out emails yet?
I don't think Katherine Harris is lacking in charisma, excitement or gratitude. :-) Her biggest problems, IMHO, are the White House/NRSC (and hopefully Jeb's "thaw" is an indication that this ice is breaking) and defeatists right here.
Anybody who thinks KH is going to waltz in and just take an incumbent's seat is fooling themselves. Bill Nelson will have something to say about that. But to think she cannot win is not only unrealistic, but it hurts the very ideology (represented by KH) many claim to embrace.
Hopefully a few more encouraging polls and campaign/fundraising articles will help brighten up these pessimists.
Now he's reduced to running for State Attorney General. I wonder if he'll win in that primary.
I have nothing personal against Bill. All in all, he's a good conservative and he's intelligent. But he's a poor candidate on the statewide stump. He comes off as a nerd. Cong. Harris would run circles around him in a senatorial primary.
Leni
Here's where you can sign up for 'em.
I hope you are right.
Though Nelson did speak in support of some boy scouts in Northern FL. (he has said nothing in the democrat blue counties of FL)
Harris has to run away from the wishy washy middle (ala olympia snow) rino republicans. It does not help she is a harvard grad, it is an issue for her to overcome in my book. (GW managed so I am hopeful she can too)
Actually, I think Katherine is going to surprise a lot of people. This lady has plenty of moxey inside that good-lookin' head of hers.
It's going to absolutely fascinating to watch her campaign techniques. I want to see how she bursts out of the box when the time comes........and where she goes from there. She's got the brains, the conservative motives, the energy, the guts.....and best of all, the moolah.
I'm really going to get into this campaign!
Leni
www.baynews9.com (brighthouse).
Harris has to run away from the wishy washy middle (ala olympia snow) rino republicans.
I hope you are able to encourage others to follow suit. It would be a nice victory.
Way Cool!
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