Free Republic

Washington, DC, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- In a blow to ex-GOP U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, the Florida Right to Life Committee endorsed two of his opponents Monday in the upcoming GOP Senate primary. The committee, the state affiliate of the politically influential National Right to Life Committee, gave its seal of approval to former U.S. Housing Secretary Mel Martinez and Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, citing their commitment to protecting the sanctity of life. In surveys of Florida GOP voters, McCollum, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2000, Martinez and Byrd have consistently finished in the top three, with...

When it comes to keen political instincts, Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd makes Mel Brooks' dithering Gov. LePetomaine in ``Blazing Saddles'' look like a founding father. As brilliant strategic maneuvers go, Byrd has pulled off the Tallahassee equivalent of Howard Dean deciding to turn into Carrot Top on the night of the Iowa caucuses. During an interview last week with the quill pens of the editorial board here at the Ministry of Truth, Byrd somehow concluded it would be a good idea to treat fellow House Republicans as so many lawn jockeys - on the eve of the legislative session,...

TALLAHASSEE - Eight U.S. Senate candidates met in a campaign forum Tuesday, but the buzz was about the one who wasn't there: House Speaker Johnnie Byrd of Plant City. It marked the third time in two weeks that Byrd skipped a forum at which the other Republican candidates took part. That fueled talk of Byrd leaving the race, but he denied that and said his top priority is running the House. "There'll be plenty of time for forums," Byrd told reporters. "My job right now is to be speaker. We'll have four months of forums ad nauseam." Byrd also has...

BRADENTON - When Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd addressed the East Manatee Republican Club's holiday banquet Monday night, he could could have focused on any number of high-profile, controversial issues. Instead, he chose to focus on the three promises he said Florida Republicans had delivered for the state. "At Jeb Bush's second inaugural, he had three goals for the state," Byrd said. "Diversify the economy, encourage reading and strengthen marriage." "We delivered on the promises Bush made only 10 months later," he said, "and we're going to create more jobs. . . . the glue that holds families together is...

<p>A poll of Democratic primary voters released Tuesday by U.S. Senate candidate Betty Castor isn’t as surprising for the results — Castor leads her party’s field — as it is for campaign transparency.</p> <p>While most candidates like to talk about private polls showing them ahead, they virtually never talk about how the polls were conducted, the question wording, or who was polled, be it family members, registered voters, or the random public.</p>

Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.), the former Florida secretary of state who became a household name during the 2000 Florida post-election recount, is likely to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Bob Graham (D), a GOP official said. The congresswoman said in a telephone interview from Sarasota, Fla., that she’s mulling her options. Asked if her role in the contested presidential election would help or hinder a Senate race, Harris said she looks forward to telling “the truth about what happened.” Harris, struggling to regain her voice after a afternoon of Veterans’ Day speeches, also said the country...

TALLAHASSEE - House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's U.S. Senate campaign is getting financial support from hundreds of contributors, including some who benefited from legislation in 2003. Byrd's donors include health care executives, hometown friends from Plant City, influential lobbyists and partners in the Broad & Cassel law firm that Byrd hired to oversee changes to the House computer system. Byrd, a Plant City Republican, raised $846,000 in the three months ending Sept. 30, more than any other GOP Senate candidate. The nearly 300-page report shows most of Byrd's money came from Florida, and $50,000 was donated by Washington political action committees....

PLANT CITY -- Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd kicked off his campaign for the U.S. Senate before a hometown crowd, promising to fight for "common sense, conservative values" before he strapped on an electric guitar and strummed the chords to Johnnie B. Goode. Although the Plant City Republican has been raising money for his Senate race for about three months and lining up supporters even longer, it's been mostly behind the scenes. Saturday's rally at Grandpa Johnson's BBQ Restaurant marked the public campaign kickoff. Byrd told the crowd he "took Plant City values to Tallahassee, and we're going to take...

WASHINGTON — Maybe someone out there knows what Sen. Bob Graham is going to do now that his presidential campaign has ended and his Senate seat is up for grabs in 2004. But the odds are that the only people who have a strong sense of Graham's next step are his wife, Adele, and his four daughters. After all, this is the same man who announced his decision on the presidency last week on CNN's "Larry King Live" to the shock of many members of his senior campaign staff. Graham spokesman Paul Anderson still expects his decision on the Senate...

WASHINGTON - Rep. Mark Foley intends to drop out of the race for the Republican Senate nomination from Florida for family reasons and will instead seek re-election to the House, party sources said Thursday night. These sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the lawmaker was expected to announce his plans within a day or two. Foley's spokesman could not be reached for comment. Foley, first elected to Congress in 1994, has had his sights set for months on the seat held by Democratic presidential hopeful Bob Graham, who has not said whether he will seek a new term...

Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd could liven up local Republican politics when he spends a day in Palm Beach County next week. Given all the campaign money here, it's a natural early stop for Byrd, who just announced his interest in the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. It's also home base for U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Palm Beach Gardens. He's amassed a huge treasury while campaigning for months, including multiple trips to Byrd's Tampa Bay back yard. Byrd is making the standard stops: a Republican club luncheon in Boca Raton and the party's annual Lobsterfest in Delray Beach. He's also...