Katherine Harris Campaign Loses Core Staff

AP on Yahoo ^ | 4/1/06 | Brenda Farrington - ap

[NormsRevenge]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Katherine Harris' U.S. Senate campaign lost what was left of its core team when a top adviser, campaign manager, and communications director resigned this weekend.

Harris, a Republican congresswoman challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record), said Saturday she would introduce new members of her campaign early in the week.

"We are stronger as a campaign today than we were yesterday," Harris said in a press release.

Harris said her campaign has lined up people who believe in her candidacy, are committed, and support the "values of mainstream Florida citizens."

Former campaign manager Jim Dornan, who resigned in November, said, "She had the best people in the country. She can't get any better than that.

"This is a campaign that is spiraling downward by the minute," he said, adding she should drop out of the race.

Among those resigning over the weekend were Ed Rollins, a political adviser to President Reagan; campaign manager Jamie Miller; press secretary Morgan Dobbs; and other key staff.

Phone messages left for Rollins and Dobbs were not immediately returned, while contact information was not found for Miller. Harris didn't immediately return a call Saturday for additional comment.

Her campaign has struggled since announcing plans to challenge Nelson last summer.

For months, GOP leaders in Washington tried recruiting someone else into the race, and Harris' fundraising was slow from the start. Turnover has also been a problem. She recently lost a pollster, a national financial director, treasurer and media consultant.

Advisers urged her to get out of the race. She refused and announced last month that she would spend $10 million of her own money to compete with Nelson, whom she has trailed significantly in several polls.

[quantim]

The 'stooge factor' you mention is most scary. 

Blame the voters, not the politician. Fat Ted is the consummate example. The RNC only follows money, not brains, FWIW.

[MindBender26]

>I still don't understand why the Republicans in power screwed her over....

They didn't. She screwed over herself.

Problem #1. She was never an electable statewide candidate. In reality, with rare exceptions, elections are predictable by February of the election year. She has incredible engravers, incredibly bad Q numbers, even worse Z numbers.

Florida Rs could have, and probably still can, unite behind a viable candidate to run against Nelson, but it never was KH.

I love her dearly, FEC max out to her campaigns every time, but the issue always was, and is today, CAN she be elected???? and the answer was always a resounding no.

In any military campaign, the total responsibility for everything lies with the commander. On the high seas, the captain is responsible for everything that happens on his ship.

In an campaign, the candidate is responsible for everything that happens, and recently, all these problems have been KH problems.

Regardless of which race she runs for, I'll still max out to her, but hope for everyones' sake, it os Congress again.

[duckln]

On the high seas, the captain is responsible for everything that happens on his ship...candidate is responsible for everything that happens

Now, that's what I call classic 'drivel'. The captain, many times is blamed because he can control what's going on " ON HIS SHIP, but less often is responsible for what happens TO HIS SHIP.

During the UBoat happy times, hundreds of ships were torpedoed and sent to the bottom. In this case the RNC is doing the sinking. As with the UBoats, the RNC will lose, but it may take a few election cycles. The upshot was that 30,000 of 40,000 German sailors were 'buried at sea'.

Sorry, I couldn't resist responding with a little 'drivel' of my own.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

They didn't. She screwed over herself.

Look, Harris is not stopping other Republican candidates from running. The fact remains that no other Republican wanted to run in the race because they knew that Harris was running. This is sour grapes on the GOP establishment. Their boy Jeb doesn't want the seat, so now they're discouraged and is undermining Harris with a pathetic whisper campaign (Republican "officials" making comments to FL newsrags, etc).

But the RNC will go all out to defend RINOs such as Chafee and Specter. Go figure.

[MindBender26]

Our efforts have to be on exactly what you allude to, finding a winning candidate.

Please see my prior on Robin Higgins. Thanx

[joebuck]

Sorry, but I haven't been able to buy into this campaign since the "playboy pin up" interview on Hannity & Colmes. Stick a fork in her........

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

You've got a winning candidate sitting right in front of you. Hello...

[JulieRNR21]

The liberal press has gone after Harris' campaign since she first announced. They are trying to knock her out of the running because she CAN beat Nelson!

It's the same thing we saw in 2000....smear campaign and politics of personal destruction....Some FReepers have joined the liberal full court press attack on Katherine!

This letter was in the Sarasota paper today and it expresses exactly what we are seeing!

---

She's an effective legislator

As one who campaigned for Katherine Harris in her two successful runs for Congress and who supports her current senatorial effort, I do not recognize the candidate Harris your paper describes. The hateful and fact-free letters you choose to publish are bad enough, but add to them Jeremy Wallace's guilt-by-association pieces and little truth emerges.

Forget the calumny for a change and print this: U.S. Rep. Harris is an intelligent, extraordinarily well-educated, politically astute and truly caring person, who happens to be one of the most effective of the newer legislators in D.C. In her first term, her bill to provide low-income workers with loans for first-time homeowners' down payments became law.

Many veteran lawmakers have yet to have their own bill passed. Also, on her watch, the long-sought veterans cemetery became a reality -- and was located in Harris' congressional district. These things don't just happen. It takes lots of energy, know-how and the respect of her peers.

The so-called "scandal" about MZM contributions is ridiculous. It was the contributions that were illegal -- not Harris' conduct. Her efforts to obtain a $10 million grant to bring 200 well-paying jobs to Sarasota were honest. I read that her opponent in the Senate race, Sen. Bill Nelson, sought more than $1 billion in special grants. Tell us who will benefit from that billion and whether they contributed to Nelson.

Harris has been an excellent congresswoman and will be a better senator. Despite the efforts of the media, or perhaps as a result of them, she is going to win this election. She has never lost at the polls. She is a winner.

Florida's voters are fair-minded. They will see through the smoke screen and elect Katherine Harris.

[planetpatrol]

Wait, is that tire king Big John of Volusia County? Its either him or the dad on Viva la Bam. Big John was a fatboy fixture in my Florida childhood.

[PhiKapMom]

My friend who has all the background has not gotten his talking points from the RNC and neither have I. She will not beat Nelson and is pulling down the rest of the ticket. That is not RNC talking points -- that is the facts.

Stick your head in the sand but she will not win and could cost other seats if she stays on the ticket. A lot of the political savvy people around the State are very worried and once again that is not RNC.

Her campaign has been in disarray for months. If you all would quit thinking about 2000 and move into today you would find she is a louzy candidate. My brother who lives in FL cannot stand her and thinks she is one of the worst candidates for Senator he has seen or heard. Once again, he is not being faxed any RNC Talking Points.

[PhiKapMom]

Thank you!

I was beginning to think I was one of the few people on here that thought she was a bad candidate for Senate and had did it to herself not the media, not RNC, nobody but herself to blame. This blaming RNC for her foulups is ridiculous.

[I got the rope]

Problem #1. She was never an electable statewide candidate.

She was elected in 1998 in a statewide race with a greater percentage of the vote than Bill Nelson in 2000. She was elected in 2000...when she was "unelectable" as per the media and she was reelected in 2004 by a wider margin.

Conservatives love her in this state. RINOs on the other hand...well...you know..."to hell with them."

[TAdams8591]

Julie, I have one question for you, as someone who is not from Florida and not as familiar with Katherine Harris as are you.

Is she more like a Pat Toomey from PA or an Alan Keyes as a Senatorial candidate?

[isom35]

well, she can always fall back on riding horses and being photographed.

[MindBender26]

If she is a winning candidate, why has all her staff left her, her numbers are lower than whale dung, and everything is getting worse?

Are we about to blame the Jews and the Bicycle Riders?

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

If she is a winning candidate, why has all her staff left her, her numbers are lower than whale dung, and everything is getting worse?

- Her staff didn't have it in them to stand and fight
- Those poll numbers are whale dung themselves
- If she's a loser, then why didn't Jeb and other prominent FL Repubs step to the plate?
- Everything is not getting worse, more FL MSM BS

[duckln]

Why? RNC pressure.

Question for you. Why does she poll higher than any other GOP candidate?

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

She will not beat Nelson and is pulling down the rest of the ticket. That is not RNC talking points -- that is the facts.

That's not facts, dear, that's hyperbole.

Stick your head in the sand but she will not win and could cost other seats if she stays on the ticket. A lot of the political savvy people around the State are very worried and once again that is not RNC.

The ones whose heads are in the sand are the RINO hacks undermining her campaign with their whispering campaign and chicken-little whining. Hey, nobody stopping other GOP candidates from running. Where's Jeb and all the other GOP saviors? [Crickets chirping]

Her campaign has been in disarray for months.

This is pure liberal FL MSM projection here. Her campaign is not in "disarray"; campaigns always go through phases & changes behind the scenes (which doesn't get reported, unless you're an evil Republican). You will always have disagreements among staffers in a campaign, particularily those on ego trips and are just using the campaign to raise their profile. That's just political nature.

If you all would quit thinking about 2000 and move into today you would find she is a louzy candidate.

It is the Left who are obsessed with the 2000 election and are trying to turn Harris into a polarizing figure.

My brother who lives in FL cannot stand her and thinks she is one of the worst candidates for Senator he has seen or heard.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure his dislike of Harris will suddenly reasonate with the thousands of FL conservatives who intend on voting for her.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Is she more like a Pat Toomey from PA or an Alan Keyes as a Senatorial candidate?

Well, she's kind of both. She's a Christian like Keyes but doesn't have his belligerence.

[marc costanzo]

Tommy Franks is not interested in running !