Posted on 08/25/2006 8:22:12 PM PDT by JulieRNR21
CAMPAIGN 2006 | U.S. SENATE Harris thrills Broward fans
Republican U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris reveled in her underdog status Thursday during campaign appearances in Democrat-friendly Broward County.
BY ERIKA BOLSTAD ebolstad@MiamiHerald.com
As a U.S. Senate hopeful who's expected to take on an incumbent U.S. senator with a 30-point lead, Katherine Harris knows all about being an underdog.
But Thursday, the Sarasota congresswoman was among fellow Republican underdogs, as she brought her Senate campaign to a place with more Democratic voters than any other county in the state.
''We're all fighting the good fight,'' Harris told Republican supporters gathered in Davie for a Republican club meeting.
Harris leads three lesser-known GOP candidates going into the Sept. 5 primary, but when it comes to taking on Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in November, Harris is 30 points down.
Thursday, she picked up the endorsement of Tom Truex, the Davie mayor who has turned his central Broward County town into a Republican island in a sea of Democratic voters.
Harris also popped into the Republican Club of Century Village in Pembroke Pines -- another place where Republicans have long been underdogs.
But among the 40 Republicans gathered Thursday night in Davie, Harris was their underdog. Their rock star. Their political icon. And a sight for sore eyes for lonely Republicans.
`THRILLED'
''You've just thrilled the daylights out of me,'' beamed Hank Lippe, 64, a Pembroke Pines retiree and founding member of the Southwest Broward Political Organization.
On Sept. 5, Harris faces three lesser-known candidates: LeRoy Collins Jr., Will McBride and Peter Monroe. All three trail Harris in the polls.
''Forget about the polls,'' Truex told the crowd Thursday night. ``There's one poll that counts and it's the one on Election Day.''
But the troubles keep coming for Harris.
Dozens of staffers have quit her campaign. And even top Republicans like Gov. Jeb Bush encouraged her not to run for the statewide seat.
In an interview before her appearance in Davie, Harris brushed it all aside -- including the larger-than-life image she knows everyone has of her.
''I think it's a caricature that they like to create, and it's not going to stick,'' Harris said. ``When people meet me, they say I'm nothing like what the liberals have tried to make of me.''
PRESS DISMISSED
So far, Harris has failed to garner any endorsements from any major Florida newspaper, a vote of no-confidence that she dismisses with a wave of her hand.
''I did not anticipate editorial board endorsements,'' Harris said. ``I didn't even bother to go to a lot of the editorial boards. It doesn't matter.''
Especially not to Republican voters like Cassie Mires, 32, of Miami, who stopped by to see Harris on her way home from her Broward School Board job. Like Lippe, she was clearly charmed.
''I support a woman whose doing anything positive for the community,'' said Mires, a former staffer for former Republican congressman, J.C. Watts Jr. of Oklahoma.
''I like that she's tenacious. And she just keeps going,'' Mires added.
''You've just thrilled the daylights out of me,'' beamed Hank Lippe, 64, a Pembroke Pines retiree and founding member of the Southwest Broward Political Organization.
snip
''I support a woman whose doing anything positive for the community,'' said Mires, a former staffer for former Republican congressman, J.C. Watts Jr. of Oklahoma.
''I like that she's tenacious. And she just keeps going,'' Mires added.
Be a hoot if she beats Nelson. The Hezbocrats will need ALL the fraud they can muster.
And she looks great on horseback...
Katherine harris gets a warm welcome from her Republican base in Democrat-friendly Broward County.
PING
There. All better.
I REALLY hope she wins.
It will be good to have a REAL COnservative in Office AND force the ingrate Bushes to eat humble pie for slighting her, after the support she gave in the face of withering leftist attacks when Bush ran for Office First time around.
Thank you Julie. A good news bump tonight!!
Thanks for pinging me to the picture. Yes - they should be supporting her!!
When she wins the republican primary, which she undoubtedly will, and the general election campaign gets statted, the question will need to be posed to Jeb and even George about whether they will support Harris against Nelson. Wonder if they'll be ambivalent.
Anyhow, Go Katherine!
So far, Harris has failed to garner any endorsements from any major Florida newspaper, a vote of no-confidence that she dismisses with a wave of her hand.
Who are they kidding?
Florida newspaper's endorsement, wow!
A joke, the Fla "drive-by" L.S.M. only have their eyes focused on the "ass-naut" cadet b.n.
My take is not that they want the Democrat to win but feel that she is so behind in the poles that money and time is best spent elsewhere to ensure a Republican keeps or gains a seat.
whoops polls not poles.
She REALLY looks great on Horseback!
That thar's a nice pair of 36's and a gun!
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