Free Republic

Friday, June 02, 2006 Immigration Reform Requires Securing Our Borders First Katherine Harris Immigration reform is the most pressing issue facing our country today. As a nation of laws, we can ill afford our borders to be operated as though under a state of lawlessness. The rule of law must be enforced - and securing our borders is one of our highest priorities in the post-9/11 environment. Law-abiding U.S. citizens traveling from one city in our own country to another on a commercial airliner face greater scrutiny than those crossing our borders. Absent securing our borders, terrorists seeking ill-will against...

Both sides chide Nelson for his same-sex stance Both sides of the gay marriage ban issue have criticized Sen. Bill Nelson for his moderate approach to the issue. WASHINGTON - Sen. Bill Nelson, a moderate often panned for sidestepping controversial issues, has become a target in the red-meat debate over a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. Nelson, a Florida Democrat up for reelection, opposes gay marriage but disapproves of federal intervention and says he is inclined to vote against the likely-to-fail measure, which the Senate is to take up this week. ''He cannot support an amendment that basically puts the...

TAMPA, Fla. - For months Republican leaders tried finding a candidate to take on Katherine Harris in the U.S. Senate primary, and now a recent poll shows Republican voters want an alternative to the woman who was once a party hero. But even so she appears a safe bet to win the Republican nomination because GOP voters now have too many choices and know too little about them. As Republican leaders failed to find a strong candidate to get in the race, three men stepped forward to challenge Harris for the right to face incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson. All put...

May 22, 2006--Senator Bill Nelson (D) from Florida has hit the 60% level of support in his bid for re-election. The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Nelson leading likely GOP challenger Katherine Harris (R) by twenty-seven percentage points, 60% to 33%. This Senate seat was once considered a a pick-up opportunity for the GOP. However, as the Harris campaign imploded earlier this year, Florida Republicans were unable to recruit a top-tier candidate to challenge Harris in the primary. As a result, Nelson is now one of the nation's safest incumbents. Senator Nelson is viewed favorably by 66% of the...

U.S. Senate race In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson leads U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, his likely Republican challenger, 58 - 25 percent. This compares with a 56 - 27 percent Nelson lead in an April 20 Quinnipiac University poll.

Off to the Races Joining approximately 1200 fans, the Harris for U.S. Senate campaign ventured out to the Desoto Super Speedway recently and Katherine quickly stole the show. Jack Smith, a track official said, "Often, when a political candidate or even one already in office shows up at a race track, they do their thing, make their short speech, shake a few hands, and leave quickly. Not so with Katherine! After taking time to talk to seemingly everyone in the stands, she moved to the flag-stand, officially started the race with the green flag, and later discussed gas prices, illegal...

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris had weak support in a poll released Thursday that includes the three little-known entries in the Republican U.S. Senate primary. Only 37 percent of respondents said they favored Harris, compared to 13 percent for Will McBride, 4 percent for LeRoy Collins Jr. and 2 percent for Peter Monroe. Her three opponents all entered the race May 12, which was the last day to get on the Sept. 5 primary ballot. More respondents - 43 percent - didn't choose a candidate. In a head-to-head with Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson, Harris trailed Nelson 58-25. The poll was conducted...

I usually don't get involved in politics beyond the two passes that mark the limits of Longboat Key, but since she's Longboat's most famous citizen -- at least for now -- I can't resist a thought or two about the trials and troubles of Katherine Harris as she seeks the Republican nomination for U.S. senator. My initial reaction goes back maybe 100 years -- certainly I've no idea who the first politician was who told reporters, "I don't care what you write about me, just so you spell my name right." If there's anything to that, Harris is a shoo-in...

Senator Bill Nelson (D) from Florida has hit the 60% level of support in his bid for re-election. The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Nelson leading likely GOP challenger Katherine Harris (R) by twenty-seven percentage points, 60% to 33%. This Senate seat was once considered a a pick-up opportunity for the GOP. However, as the Harris campaign imploded earlier this year, Florida Republicans were unable to recruit a top-tier candidate to challenge Harris in the primary. As a result, Nelson is now one of the nation's safest incumbents. Senator Nelson is viewed favorably by 66% of the state's voters...

Last Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris attended a ceremony with the president of the United States at MacDill Air Force base in Tampa. It was a critical moment in her campaign for the U.S. Senate, a race her own Republican Party leadership doesn't believe she can win. Her ensemble: a body-hugging, sea foam green suit with lace trim, slit skirt, green open-toed slingback shoes and a multistrand pearl choker. On Wednesday, state House Speaker Alan Bense declined the GOP's pleas to take Harris on, making her the party's leading Senate candidate. But it seemed people were talking more about that...

Four qualify to challenge Harris in GOP primaryAssociated PressMay 12, 2006 TAMPA, Fla. - Four relatively unknown candidates qualified Friday to challenge U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris in the race to win Florida Republicans' nomination for U.S. Senate. They are: LeRoy Collins Jr., son of former Florida Gov. LeRoy Collins; Peter Monroe, a Pinellas County developer who helped manage the government's savings and loan bailout; Windermere businessman William "Will" McBride; and Tampa law professor Belinda Noah. The GOP primary is Sept. 5. Gov. Jeb Bush and other Republican leaders have been looking for someone to take on Harris because she trails...

- The Katherine Harris for U.S. Senate campaign welcomed the reiteration of support expressed by U.S. Senator Martinez in comments he made at the National Press Club . "A number of people have filed today. Harris is by far the most serious of those candidates and I think she will be the nominee. I wish her well. And I think that the best thing she can do is to focus her race on the issues and her opponent and their differences and why she would be a great senator from the state of Florida for this country. I wish her...

TALLAHASSEE, FL (AP) -- US Representative Katherine Harris has a challenger for the Republican senatorial nomination in Florida. Peter Monroe is a developer who helped manage the government's savings and loan bailout. Governor Jeb Bush and other Republican leaders had been looking for someone to take on Harris because she trails incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson by about 30 percentage points in public opinion polls. Bush has said he didn't believe Harris could beat Nelson. Monroe of Safety Harbor in the Tampa Bay area managed the liquidation of more than $400 billion in real estate assets from failing savings and...

Florida House Speaker Allan Bense announced today that he will not challenge U.S. Representative Katherine Harris in the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. According to an Associated Press account, Bense said, "I have been extremely honored and humbled by the strong support and encouragement I have received from my family, my friends, and from people across Florida who I admire greatly, however, I have decided not to run for the United States Senate." "I respect Allan Bense's decision and appreciate his noble service to Florida. Allan has been a friend over the years, and I look forward to working...

SUN CITY CENTER, Fla., May 9 — President Bush and his brother continued their awkward dance today with Representative Katherine Harris of Florida, whose run for the Republican Senate nomination this year they have met with chilliness. Ms. Harris was on hand this morning to meet President Bush as he stopped in Tampa en route to a Medicare event in this nearby, senior-rich town — just one day after Governor Jeb Bush said publicly that he did not believe Ms. Harris could win against the Democratic incumbent Senator here, Bill Nelson. Jeb Bush was there, too, as Ms. Harris waited...

Bush says Harris can't win BY BILL KACZOR ASSOCIATED PRESS TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday that U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris has dropped so low in public opinion polls she cannot beat Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November. "I just don't think she can win," Bush said at the Capitol in his strongest statement yet about his fellow Republican's struggling campaign. The governor has made no secret that he hopes House Speaker Allan Bense will challenge Harris for the Republican nomination. Bense has not made up his mind, his wife, Tonie, said Monday from their Panama City home....

The White House added a new wrinkle to Florida's U.S. Senate race Wednesday by pointedly praising state House Speaker Allan Bense. In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times, Sara Taylor, President Bush's political director, said Bense "would be great in any office he ran for." Taylor said she knows Bense from her dealings with Florida Republican leaders. "I think the world of the guy," she said. "I think he's a class act, he's a very strong leader. He's somebody who is a consensus builder." Taylor's comments were a subtle but unmistakable signal that the White House is getting more...

(AP) ORLANDO, Fla. A political strategist who left U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' Senate campaign last month said Harris ignored her staff's recommendation to reject a defense contractor's $10 million appropriation request, now being challenged by a congressional watchdog group. Harris insisted the request be submitted even though it was late and hard to understand, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel's Thursday editions. The newspaper cites Harris' former chief political strategist Ed Rollins. "She told them she wanted it done," Rollins told the paper. "And she wanted it done now." Harris spokesman Chris Ingram declined to comment Thursday...

Katy's got a new ad and it's here: http://www.electharris.org/video/ What do you think?