FL Senate: Nelson opens wide lead over Harris

by Jerome Armstrong, Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 05:39:00 PM EDT

This is terrific news for Nelson in Florida, and for Republicans, a nightmare, as Harris might drag down their whole Florida ticket in 2006 (from RollCall, the Mason Dixon poll):
	  Total     Favorable	   Unfavorable

Nelson	  53	    44		   10
Harris	  36	    32		   30
Harris looks toxic. At least she'll suck up a lot of wingnuttery money.

Tags: Senate 2006 (all tags)

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21 Comments

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Can't wait to sing:
"Ding dong, the witch is dead......."

We have some work to do before we hopefully get to that point, but here's to early optimism.

by Sam Loomis 2005-06-20 05:53PM | 0 recs
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Harris is a negative!!
The state of Florida has been tricked twice-now what was that thing Bush said...
""There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again." --George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

Now do actually think Floridians will vote again knowing Harris corrupted the 2000 election?  Give those folks a little credit-Harris is TOXIC!
The repugs will look for anything now for her to remove herself, she could always "have to spend more time with her family."

Good for Nelson!

by lja 2005-06-20 05:58PM | 0 recs
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Harris
Is a bitch, I live in florida so i am extra extra happy to see these numbers. Another thing i love is that jeb, the florida republican party, and karl rove don't want her to run. She really wants to run but their trying to stop her, sounds kinda ironic, karma can be a bitch sometimes. I think the republican party will tear itself apart, I cant wait to see the primary fights in 2006 they will all be "i love jesus more than you do" fights, it will be very funny. I also hope that those sort of tactics cause moderates to leave the repugs for the dems, i know in the northeast more and more lower level goverment officials are changing party affiliation. Democrats will control the entire northeast after 2006.
by Odysseus 2005-06-20 06:27PM | 0 recs
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Florida By Here
even though I now live in Indiana. All I can say is, Yaa-freakin-hoo!

I've actually met Nelson a few times.  There was a time, maybe 20 years ago, when he looked like real Presidential material.  Kennedy-esque looks & family, etc.  Not sure what happened, but Florida is won or lost on the I-4 corridor, and that's his stomping grounds.

by dhonig 2005-06-20 07:12PM | 0 recs
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Let's Not Get Ahead of Ourselves
A neutered Cruella d'Ville also poses some fundraising problems for us. Who else can Howard Dean hoist a picture of say in Henderson, NV and drum up money for the unsexy-but-likely-close Nevada Senate race? Among partisan Democrats of course, it's easy to raise money by showing clips of Abu Ghraib...but we need the Terri Schiavo-Kathy Harris angle to galvanize the more moderate Democrats into paying up.
by risenmessiah 2005-06-20 07:46PM | 0 recs
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NC 04 - a lesson
Check out Erskine Bowles numbers over Burr this far out - then see who is sitting in office.  Whoever lives in FL needs to figure out what Bowles did wrong (stopped spending money) and make sure it doesn't happen in FL.
by Robert P 2005-06-21 02:35AM | 0 recs
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Re: NC 04 - a lesson
North Carolina's not the same as Florida...I was in school for that Bowles-Burr race and we knew the whole time it was going to get a lot closer. And Burr did not have the same high negatives as Harris--everybody in Florida already knows who she is, and they don't like her. Burr had nowhere to go but up.
by asf6 2005-06-21 05:18AM | 0 recs
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Re: NC 04 - a lesson
Aah, the internet.  I was at Duke for a number of years, hope to get back there at some point.  I agree with you about Harris having higher negatives, but as another poster notes, there are still lessons to be learned from that race.
by Robert P 2005-06-21 06:48AM | 0 recs
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Re: NC 04 - a lesson
Well, I doubt Nelson would beat Harris by 17 points, if that's what you mean.

...though he might come close.

by asf6 2005-06-21 07:24AM | 0 recs
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Re: NC 04 - a lesson
Bowles like Kerry did not run agressive campaigns during the month of August 2004, it cost him both of them badly.  Mike Easley whom many on mydd do not like, chose to run an agressive campaign and won.  Also Bowles camp seemed to think that Edwards on the ticket would be enough, but for what ever reason the Kerry camp did not use Edwards in an effective manner and it cost them and hurt down ticket senate races.
by THE MODERATE 2005-06-21 05:34AM | 0 recs
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Harris isn't the nominee yet
A lot can happen between now and the GOP primary. Theres no guarantee that Harris will be the nominee.
by molly bloom 2005-06-21 03:11AM | 0 recs
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Re: Harris isn't the nominee yet
Here's hoping she will be, though...the other big contenders seem more interested in the governor race.
by asf6 2005-06-21 05:20AM | 0 recs
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TPM has an interesting article on Katherine Harris
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_06_19.php#005853

32 checks from the employees of the same defense contractor written on the same day... interesting.

by molly bloom 2005-06-21 03:28AM | 0 recs
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And this is the same contractor that...
...paid Randy Cunningham (R-CA) a $700,000 bribe by buying his house, paying that much over market value for the property.  Plus, three employees said they were forced to make these contrabutions, a big campaign finance no-no.  I smell a big scandal here.
by Geotpf 2005-06-21 08:52AM | 0 recs
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I don't want her dead until the general.
It seems to me that if the numbers continue to be this bad, she'll have to withdraw or the state GOP will have to challenge her.
by howie14 2005-06-21 05:01AM | 0 recs
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Re: I don't want her dead until the general.
Just heard on local NPR that Jeb and W are looking for a replacement already.
by molly bloom 2005-06-21 05:07AM | 0 recs
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Harris would be great for GOP
Harris would be great for us. As far as we are concerned, she is well-known, she has a record, and we can remind people that SHE denied them their vote.  We could launch a negative campaign with pictures of her knoodling with men who are not her husband.  She also has some interesting campaign funding to expose.  Here is a campaign slogan:  Katherine Harris=Doing Her Part to Not Count Your Vote
by Marie Smith 2005-06-21 07:19AM | 0 recs
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Don't Forget Touchscreen Voting...
As I understand it, Florida is now hopelessly infested with touchscreen machines. Which means that the Republican machine has almost complete control over the electoral process and can annoint anyone they want to any statewide or national post at any time they want. Nothing is more valued by the party than loyalty (except for, perhaps, money) and Harris is the epitome of loyalty. As in Georga, popular opinion is now meaningless.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

by ProgressiveChristian 2005-06-21 07:27AM | 0 recs
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Re: Don't Forget Touchscreen Voting...
Only places with punch card systems switched to touch screens.  Many places were already on optical scan equipment.

I've lived in Florida my entire adult life (I'm 34) and I can't remember ever using anything other than optical scan equipment.  So when the news from South Florida's punch card ballots came out, I was shocked to realize that some places were still using such outdated technology.  Optical scan isn't perfect, but I'm convinced that's the best and easiest to use option out there.

--sam

by samizdat 2005-06-21 08:11AM | 0 recs
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Re: Don't Forget Touchscreen Voting...
Well, that's a little bit of comfort. I just remembered the tales Randi Rhodes and Bev Harris told about last November. Maybe if the margin is big enough there's hope. I've got little love for Nelson, but Harris...oy.
by ProgressiveChristian 2005-06-21 07:16PM | 0 recs
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Lots of work, early
It'll take a lot of work, and early, and grassroots-style, retail campaign-style, to keep Nelson in office. Harris may not be the first choice of the Dynasty Bush and Rove, Inc., but she's damn popular among many of the everyday Republicans. They love Bush, and she gave them Bush in 2000. That's what they know of her, that's what they remember, that's why they give her a crapload of money and vote for her. But her record is something else entirely. She's a right wing screwball, tainted with scandal (and more than just Election 2000). I believe Democrats can keep the Senate seat, and that we can even pick up her seat in Florida's 13th District. Again, with a two-pronged approach. Grassroots out east in the Florida outback, Desoto and Hardee Counties, some hard campaigning in Manatee County, where Democratic voter registration is way up, and some high visibility in the Sarasota area. It'll take a lot of work, a lot of dedicated people -- Florida's a big state. But it can be done. http://warnerkirby.blogs.com/spencerian/2005/06/unworthy_florid.html
by bjk816 2005-06-22 11:36AM | 0 recs

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