Nelson is a household word??? Hell, in socialist households, maybe. He's a clown who must be replaced.
Posted on 10/03/2006 2:20:39 PM PDT by JulieRNR21
Florida Democrats' chances are fading, poll finds
With Jim Davis trailing by 21 points in the governor's race, pollster John Zogby says the Democrats have no one on the top of the ticket to deliver party-wide victory.
With five weeks left before the general election, only one Democrat on the statewide ballot -- U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson -- is leading his challenger, while Republicans hold double-digit leads from the governor's race to all but one of the Cabinet races, a new Miami Herald poll shows.
The conclusions of the survey by Zogby International spell trouble for the Democratic Party.
With two open Cabinet seats and a popular Republican governor leaving office, Democrats had hoped to seize the advantage this pivotal election year by snatching at least one Cabinet seat from Republicans and regaining control of the governor's office. But the poll shows that prospect may be fading: Democrat Adelaide ''Alex'' Sink trails Republican Tom Lee by 13 percentage points for the Cabinet post of chief financial officer, while Democrat Eric Copeland trails incumbent Republican Charles Bronson by 12 points for agriculture commissioner.
The closest contest appears to be the attorney general's race, between Democratic state Sen. Walter ''Skip'' Campbell of Fort Lauderdale and Republican Bill McCollum, the former congressman. McCollum, who has run statewide twice before, leads Campbell 42 to 38 percent.
In each of the Cabinet races, however, between 20 percent to 25 percent of the voters still haven't made up their minds.
That indecision means the Cabinet races could become more competitive, pollster John Zogby said.
But for that to happen, Democrats Sink, Campbell and Copeland can't rely on the top of the ticket to get out the Democratic base, ''they've got to run their own campaign,'' Zogby said.
With Democrat Jim Davis behind Republican Charlie Crist by 21 points in the governor's race, Davis provides no coattails on which the rest of his party's ticket can ride, he said.
''Democrats appear to be rudderless,'' Zogby said. ``Aside from [Nelson] who's already a household word, it's important for there to be a strong candidate at the top of the ticket to energize voters and get voters out.''
Davis has failed in that regard, said Zogby, who added that although Davis is clearly disagreeing with Republicans, he is ``not addressing alternatives that matter to people.''
State Sen. Steve Geller, a Hallandale Beach Democrat and incoming Senate minority leader, acknowledged the importance of the top of the ticket on the rest of the Democratic slate.
''If Jim Davis wins, I bet our entire slate wins. If Jim Davis loses by 15 or 20 points, that spells trouble for the rest of our ticket,'' he said, adding, ``I don't see that happening.''
Geller noted that Republicans are ahead because they are the only ones on television.
McCollum has run one television ad in Fort Lauderdale and the Panhandle and Lee has run two television ads in select markets as well.
Davis and the other candidates have decided to match their opponents on television during the crucial last four to five weeks of the race, Geller said.
''It's early and all our candidates are running competitive,'' said Mark Bubriski, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Florida.
According to the poll, the issues that matter most to voters continue to be education, at 36 percent, hurricane insurance, at 17 percent, and property taxes at 10 percent.
The poll surveyed 803 likely voters between Sept. 26-28 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
In the attorney general's race, Campbell has seized on the windstorm insurance issue, blasting Republican leaders for forging an insurance package during the Legislature's past session that he says favors the industry. Campbell is a trial lawyer who has served for 10 years in the state Senate.
By contrast, McCollum, an Orlando lawyer, has taken a more broad-based approach to his campaign, touting his 17 years in Congress and his record pushing anti-crime and anti-terrorist bills.
Campbell leads McCollum in South Florida, 42 to 36 percent, while McCollum is ahead of Campbell in his home region, the Interstate 4 corridor, 45 to 34. The battle is likely to be waged in North Florida, where Campbell trails McCollum by a slim 43 to 40 percent.
In the CFO contest, Lee and Sink have sparred in candidate forums over who is better prepared for the job. Lee, president of the state Senate and a vice president of his family's home-building company in Brandon, says the position needs someone with political experience to push changes through.
He is ahead of Sink 44 to 31 percent.
Sink, who lives outside Tampa, is the former president of Bank of America's Florida operations and wife of the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor in the 2002 race, Bill McBride. She says her 25 years of financial experience will make her a better watchdog for the top state finance job.
Lee has touted his preprimary endorsement from Gov. Jeb Bush, and features the governor on one of his campaign commercials. Sink touts the endorsement of former state Comptroller Bob Milligan -- a Republican and former Marine Corps general who advocated for the creation of the CFO job.
Sink trails Lee in every region of the state, including South Florida where she was expected to be favored, and among women, according to the Herald poll.
In the low-key race for agriculture commissioner, Bronson leads Copeland 43 to 32 percent. Copeland, a Miami attorney and businessman, is trying to make citrus canker the central theme of the race to defeat Bronson, a fifth generation Florida rancher.
Voters don't like to be treated like idiots who can't recognize an orchestrated event when they see one.
Excerpt:
With Democrat Jim Davis behind Republican Charlie Crist by 21 points in the governor's race, Davis provides no coattails on which the rest of his party's ticket can ride, he said.
''Democrats appear to be rudderless,'' Zogby said. ``Aside from [Nelson] who's already a household word, it's important for there to be a strong candidate at the top of the ticket to energize voters and get voters out.''
Davis has failed in that regard, said Zogby, who added that although Davis is clearly disagreeing with Republicans, he is ``not addressing alternatives that matter to people.''
My prediction--KH is going to take it!
Just think, if the Florida GOP had put up a decent Senate candidate, Nelson would be toast. . . and then some.
Guess a headline of "Florida GOP May Win Landslide" would be out of the question.
If you like Harris or not Jeb Bush should be out there pushing for the republican nominee to the senate and not doing so is shameful. Two faced nelson thnx him
It's a surprise that the ultra liberal Miami Herald would even print this article.....
harris is a decent candidate...she just was not backed by the gop....seems that she was decent enough doing her job as the ag in the 2000 election....short term memory loss?
Nelson is a household word??? Hell, in socialist households, maybe. He's a clown who must be replaced.
Flip, Nelson is a former Astronaut, the reason why many better Pubbies declined to run.
Great news. We might have a chance to save Foley's seat after all. If the Establishment hadn't trashed Harris from the get-go, even she might have had a chance. Just goes to show, you never know how a campaign will develop.
I wonder if this will help Joe Negron hold the Foley seat???
Can't do that. Union rules.
Crist can pull up the rest of the ticket.....
Please email JEB and tell him to campaign with Katherine Harris:
jeb@jeb.org, fl_governor@myflorida.com
If Dims are losing across the board in FL, why would they just support Nelson and leave the other Dims out to dry?
Harris' primary victory has demoralized FL Democrats. How long are they going to stay mad over 2000, especially since they couldn't defeat her then, during her Congressional races, and in the primary?
Read my post #15....if enough write to JEB maybe we can convince him to....... CAMPAIGN WITH Katherine NOW!
It's okay. When Dems (with their allies in the courts) are done investigating all the "voter fraud" from diebold voting machines, they'll have a victory.
So vote for whomever you want to in Nov (like it actually matters...)
Thank you, Julie.
Consider it done.
Uh, they did. Her name is Harris. She won the primary fair and square.
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