Harris, Crist lead the field in Republican straw poll

St. Petersburg Times ^ | August 23, 2006 | WILL VAN SANT and RICK DANIELSON

[Happy Valley Dude]

Pinellas County's Republican Party held a straw poll for the Sept. 5 primary at their Victory 2006 picnic Sunday. Looks like the local GOP, at least, is with Katherine Harris. Here are the results:

U.S. Senate: Katherine Harris, 121; Leroy Collins, Jr., 56; Peter Monroe, 32; Will McBride, 24

U.S Rep. District 9: Gus Bilirakis, 219; David Langheier, 7

Governor: Charlie Crist, 201; Tom Gallagher, 31; Vernon Palmer, 1

CFO: Tom Lee, 115; Randy Johnson, 110; Milt Bauguess, 2

State Senate District 16: Kim Berfield, 132; Frank Farkas, 85

House District 48: Peter Nehr, 93; Ken Peluso, 54; Brian Flaherty, 45; Robin Borland, 14

House 50: Nancy Riley, 151; Ed Hooper, 56

House 51: Bruce Cotton, 118; Dottie Reeder, 90

House 54: Rod Jones, 87; Jim Frishe, 83; Mike Petruccelli, 37; David Vecchio, 4

[Happy Valley Dude]

Looks like yet another victory for Crist.

[tiredoflaundry]

*ping*

[Senator Goldwater]

Someone needs to post a picture of Katherine on her horse.

[longtermmemmory]

I suspect these straw polls are more to keep people from the primaries.

EVERYONE GO AND VOTE IN THE PRIMARY REGARDLESS OF WHO YOU SUPPORT.

[aynrandfreak]

If Monroe & McBride would get out, Collins could win.

[Sherri]

My thoughts also, and wouldn't that be grand? GO COLLINS! http://www.leroycollins.org/

[Happy Valley Dude]

I suspect these straw polls are more to keep people from the primaries.

Or paerhaps they are simply meant to gauge how much support each candidate has among party activists.

[Joe Brower]

Florida Freeper

[NautiNurse]

Until that happens, this will have to suffice:

[Joe Brower]

$:-)

[Dominick]

[GOPsupporterFL]

These straw polls are exactly for that purpose. All primary polls in general, are very unreliable. No one saw janet Reno losing the nomination in 02. Her ideological twin Charlie Crist may well lose in similar fashion. Rank and file Republicans, the kind that actually vote, are fed up with Crist, especially after last night.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Pinellas County's Republican Party held a straw poll for the Sept. 5 primary...

Isn't Crist from that side of the state? The news would be if he LOST that straw poll. :)

[Happy Valley Dude]

No one saw janet Reno losing the nomination in 02.

Actually, polls showed Reno and McBride in a dead heat about a week before the primary:

New polls show Janet Reno in virtual dead heat in Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary with Bill McBride; her large lead over McBride at start of summer has melted away as he gained support among party establishment, won key endorsements and ran effective advertising campaign; she began limited ad drive only last week

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C10F93A5B0C718CDDA00894DA404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fM%2fMcBride%2c%20Bill

[Torie]

Harris seems to be in good shape to win the primary per this poll.

[Happy Valley Dude]

Isn't Crist from that side of the state? The news would be if he LOST that straw poll. :)

Gallagher is from Southeast Florida. The Broward County GOP endorsed Crist.

[GOPsupporterFL]

The Broward GOP have some strong conservatives, who voted to support Gallagher, but the majority of active members are fairly liberal. That said, if they'd seen Crist in the debate with his: I'm pro-life which is why I want to keep the law the same. - and - I'm a "conservative" which is why I support civil unions. If they knew that he's for gay adoption when thousands of normal parents are on waiting lists they wouldn't have endorsed him. Many of his supporters are sick of him after finding all this out and rightly so.

Aside from being a liberal he's also a liar. His proposal of $5,000 a year per adopted child is something he knows would never pass, nor does he have any intention of proposing it. But that together with his support of the school size ammendment (a piece of legislation that would only make teachers lazier and does nothing to even encourage better teaching standards) are just small examples of his fiscal recklessness. The state is in trouble if this lying, deceiving, liberal jerk (he is not a nice guy) gets in.

[GOPsupporterFL]

I stand corrected on Reno, though my recollection is that most polls had her ahead. However, I'll go with your link.

Let's just say that the same is happening with Gallagher. Even the local papers say the race is expected to be much tighter than last month's polls.

People have now looked at the two and know who the only one of them is that will stand up for conservative causes.

[Happy Valley Dude]

Harris seems to be in good shape to win the primary per this poll.

Unfortunately every single poll also shows her losing by a landslide in November.

[Happy Valley Dude]

If they knew that he's for gay adoption when thousands of normal parents are on waiting lists they wouldn't have endorsed him.

Except that he is opposed to gay adoption.

On the social front, they both said they oppose gay adoption and same-sex marriage.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/24/Columns/Pow_Bam_Debates_spiri.shtml

If you had watched the debate the other night, you would have heard Crist state that he beleives that adoption should be by one man and one woman.