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Harris campaigns in TCoast days after surgery

By Daphne Duret
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, July 22, 2006

STUART — U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris showed up in Martin County today asking supporters for their help in her bid for the U.S. Senate.

"There's so much at stake right now, I can't stop," Harris told the several dozen who attended a reception for the congresswoman at the Knights of Columbus.

Harris' visit to the Treasure Coast comes just five days after she had surgery to remove an ovarian mass. It is the third time the Republican from Longboat Key has visited the area in her campaign to win the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat. The winner will challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Melbourne, in the November election.

The three other GOP candidates in the Sept. 5 primary are Will McBride, an Orange County attorney; Peter Monroe, a Pinellas County developer; and Adm. LeRoy Collins Jr., a retired naval officer.

Before beginning her speech, she shook hands with every person in the room thanking them for being there.

Then she asked Martin County's Republican leaders to ignore the polls, which most show her trailing Nelson by more than 30 points.

She spoke to the crowd for more than half an hour.

Regarding the war in the Middle East, she said she supported Israel's fight against Hezbollah.

On the topic of the nation's domestic immigration policy, she said she supports strict guidelines, but said sending all illegal immigrants back to their native countries and asking them to reapply to reenter the United States was unrealistic.

Harris thanked them for their concern over her health and reminded them that she returned to the House floor a day after surgery and voted in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

The vote fell short of the two-thirds majority it would have needed to pass to the Senate.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/07/22/0722harrisfeed.html