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.

[poobear]

Vote early and often right?

[poobear]

Thank you nauti! Apparently I got the message out.

[William Tell]

Thanks. I wasn't sure of Nelson's NRA grade. I just looked it up and then found your post.

That's Harris with an "A" and Nelson with an "F".

[William Tell]

subterfuge quotes his niece as saying: "I can't hear you, my mind is made up ..."

If unfortunately Harris loses, keep your eyes open for some critical Senate vote where Nelson's vote makes the difference. Then congratulate your niece on having had such an impact on the process.

[subterfuge]

If unfortunately Harris loses, keep your eyes open for some critical Senate vote where Nelson's vote makes the difference. Then congratulate your niece on having had such an impact on the process.

Count of it my friend.

[NautiNurse]

the astronauts that took that empty suit Bill Nelson into orbit on the Shuttle called him "Astronaut Ballast"

Oh, how I wish that label had been out there over the past six months. Sadly, far too many people wrongly believe Nelson was a graduate of the NASA astronaut program. They don't realize he rode along in the space shuttle as a political stunt, and at the cost of a real astronaut's opportunity.

[Joe Brower]

Heh. Your rant was great. I love those sort of "interactions" come votin'-time.

[Joe Brower]

You forgot your < /sarcasm> tags when you "voted" six times. $:-)

[NautiNurse]

Yay! Conference call ended early. I'm leaving now to wave signs with Katherine Harris!

[NautiNurse]

Some last minute campaigning this afternoon. The weather was mostly cooperative as we waved signs to the motorist passersby. There were about thirty of us covering all four corners of the intersection. Lots of thumbs up and honking. Katherine is heading down to Longboat Key now to vote, then some more sign waving in Sarasota until the polls close.

[danamco]

My 'buddy" Anders has a great smile, always!!!

[poobear]

It would have taken a six vote from all of us for her to win unfortunately.

[BLS]

"Vote early and often right?"


Yep.

[RNO1]

What it would have taken would have been support from the Republican party....None came....She did extremely well under the circumstances...Looking at the vote totals this morning....Unfortunely Republicans and some conservatives stayed home in Florida...A pretty low turnout here....At least we kept her seat not with stading the dismal news for the rest of the Country....I think with help she could have won.....

[highball]

Maybe if she had actually donated the $10M she promised to put into her campaign, that might have made the difference.

You can't fault the state GOP for not pouring money into her campaign if she wasn't willing to do it either. Once she pledged to self-fund, she had to follow through.

We needed that Senate seat. Thanks, Katherine.

[RNO1]

Your putting the blame on the wrong person...She did spend allot of her money....She was not the only conservative that the Republicans turned their back on. JD Hayworth was another one....We needed other seats but I put the blame at the top....It was a poorly run botched job by the RNC,,,,Like Rush said yesterday...They left their conservative roots and look what they got....

[highball]

Your putting the blame on the wrong person...She did spend allot of her money....

Yet only about a third of what she promised. If she didn't believe enough in her campaign to follow through on her committment, why should anybody else, including the state GOP, give her money?

I am putting the blame right where it belongs: with Harris herself. She has to take responsibility for the miserable campaign: the misstatements, the staff defections, and the lack of money she promised to provide.

She spent the entire primary insisting that she was electable, and then the entire general election proving why she wasn't.

[RNO1]

It really does not matter to me what you think or who you blame....Some day you will ralize who lost this election and why....It was lost Nation wide not just here in Florida....

[highball]

Nationwide, we lost this election on many fronts.

That in no way excuses some of our candidates for running such pitiful campaigns. Nationwide, this was a close one, and a halfway decent candidate might have taken Florida and kept the Senate.

[RNO1]

Would you please call the RNC and ask them where that person was on their part...../Wes