(AP)Florida Gubernatorial candidate, Janet Reno, was involved in a minor traffic accident
Saturday morning near Tallahassee.
Posted on 08/31/2002 1:35:04 PM PDT by Jean S
ORLANDO, Fla. - With Bill McBride gaining on her, Janet Reno jumped in her red pickup truck Saturday and hit the road again.
Reprising the late February tour she used to reintroduce herself to voters, Reno kicked off an 11-day statewide journey in her Ford Ranger as partisan polls showed her main Democratic challenger chipping away at her lead in the race for governor.
One poll done by Gov. Jeb Bush's campaign showed a gap of only 5 percentage points between McBride and Reno as of a week ago, The Tampa Tribune reported Saturday. Another one, released by the McBride campaign, showed a 6-point margin.
The third Democratic candidate, Daryl Jones, is running a distant third. The primary is Sept. 10.
If Reno is concerned about the polls, she's not showing it. Her campaign spokeswoman, Nicole Harburger, said they don't believe McBride can overcome the support the former U.S. attorney general enjoys among Democrats.
"We're just going to campaign for the votes," Reno said when asked about her narrowing lead. But McBride's surge doesn't surprise her, she said, "not with the money he has."
McBride's campaign and the state's largest teachers union, which endorsed his candidacy, have spent $3.5 million on TV ads this summer to increase his name recognition and argue that he would stand the best chance against Bush.
McBride, in Titusville to speak to 1,200 transit workers at their Labor Day picnic, called his gains in the polls "pretty extraordinary." He attributed them partly to endorsements from the AFL-CIO and the teacher's union, and Bush's negative ads against him.
"What I needed to do all along is to get people to know who I was and what I was talking about," he said.
On Thursday, Bush's re-election campaign warned supporters that upcoming polls may show Reno's lead evaporating as the primary approaches.
Public polls expected this weekend could offer more definitive evidence of whether McBride is within striking distance of Reno, who held a 53 percent to 25 percent lead over her him in a Mason-Dixon Polling & Research poll conducted in early June.
Wearing a red linen dress to match her truck Saturday, Reno toured the Orlando Health Care Trauma Center and met with a handful of supporters at the Orange County election supervisor's office. Other scheduled stops Saturday included the UAW Labor Picnic in Ocala, and a firefighters memorial benefit and Working Women's Network social back in Orlando.
The tour will take her through most of the state's major population centers right up to the primary.
"I want to let people know how important it is to vote and make sure we catch as many people as possible," she said. "We started in Pensacola (Friday) and had a great 24 hours, and I'm feeling encouraged as we take this final sweep around the state."
At a GOP picnic Saturday in Ormond Beach, Bush touted his education policies, defended the hiring of new Department of Children & Families chief Jerry Regier, and criticized Democratic candidates' education spending plans.
"This will be a close election. It will be a tough fight," Bush said.
McBride also stumped at Labor Day events in Gainesville and Fort Lauderdale Saturday. Jones was scheduled attend a campaign event in Miami Saturday night.
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On the Net:
McBride for Gov.: http://www.mcbride2002.com/
Reno for Gov.: http://www.renoforflorida.com/
Bush for Gov.: http://www.jeb.org/
The Dems didn't know where to put her so chucked her back to her home state against the unbeatable Jeb Bush.
Janet basically got dumped by her own party..no funds, no support groups...no nothing.
The lady blew her life away as Clinton's pawn.
It's all over Janet.
What a waste.
Sac
Janet Reno…you need Beano
'Cause the gas that you exude's too much
We are really not amused that you're so out of touch
Janet Reno…too much vino
Is that what has made your mind go numb
You see evidence of crime so go arrest that bum
There is treason there right under your nose
You see it everyday…it will not go away
There is treason…everybody now knows
You're throwing out some zingers…you'd rather burn right wingers
Janet Reno…a casino
Is that where you were hit on the head
You feel lucky that you're just brain damaged and you're not dead
Janet Reno…Lee Trevino
Had been hit by lightning more than once
If his brain had been French fried you're still a bigger dunce
Janet Reno…lost at Keno
Is that why you're several chips too short
What the hell will you now do with the Chris Cox report
There is treason there right under your nose
You see it everyday…it will not go away
There is treason…everybody now knows
You're throwing out some zingers…you'd rather burn right wingers
Janet Reno…the Bambino
Would be knocking you out of the park
And the fans would stand and cheer him as your world went dark
(AP)Florida Gubernatorial candidate, Janet Reno, was involved in a minor traffic accident Saturday morning near Tallahassee
Driver Ted Kennedy explained to reporters, "I leaned over to you-ah-know, to cop a feel. I wasn't thinking because ahhh..instinct, second-nature and all, and caught myself just as I looked at what I was copping. Needless to say, I ahhh..I'll let my attorneys take it from here. Thank you, thank you...no...no..no more questions. Thank you!"
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