Incumbent Nelson faces Harris challenge in Senate race

Mercury News ^ | Nov. 07, 2006 | MITCH STACY

[NautiNurse]

TAMPA, Fla. - Katherine Harris has insisted all along that she could unseat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson if she could energize the state's strong Republican base. She'll learn Tuesday night how successful that effort has been.

Voters heading to the polls Tuesday had a clear choice between Harris, the conservative congresswoman who made her name overseeing Florida's recount in the disputed 2000 election, and Nelson, the staid, centrist Democratic senator who's been spent more than three decades in public office.

Harris had her work cut out for her. Nelson has led the Longboat Key congresswoman by as much as 30 percentage points in recent polls, and political experts doubt she was able to close the gap in the waning days of the campaign, despite reasonably solid performances in two debates.

Lack of money has kept her from running statewide TV ads since the September primary, in which she beat three political newcomers. She has focused her campaign efforts on Republican groups and public events, but wasn't allowed to sit on stage Monday as President Bush spoke at a Pensacola campaign rally.

[highball]

"where that person was on their part"?

I'll take your question at face value.

We blew this election. There is plenty of blame to go around.

We blew it in not having a coherent message across the board, we blew it by going negative with the silly "Speaker Pelosi" ads and not sticking to the positive. Whoever authorized those ads shares part of the blame. Whoever drafted the message, or failed to do so, shares part of the blame.

Harris also blew it. Her campaign was a disaster, she kept losing staffers, her campaign consistently got caught saying things that weren't true. Jeb was right all along - she simply was not electable. And she knew it, or she wouldn't have broken her promise to put her entire inheritance into the campaign.