Hope springs eternal for Florida’s U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris in her bid to take Sen. Bill Nelson’s seat in 2006, no matter how bad things look. And they look awful.
Last week, the news climaxed when, on the same day, word broke that Harris’ campaign manager had quit and a poll showed her 24 points behind Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.
That followed stories in October about how her fundraising, considered her strong point, was disappointing.
Not to worry, Harris said, showing a Rove-worthy capacity for surreal spin.
…in an interview late in the week, Harris insisted the campaign remains healthy, the bad news has been over-hyped and “We have turned a corner.”
The problems, Harris said, are only temporary. “We’re completely viable, and we have a great chance.”
Harris went through the predictable routine of questioning the poll’s accuracy and citing how early it is in the process. Oddly, she also took the unusual tactic of blaming the weather and her own record.
She acknowledged the campaign has had stumbles — caused in part, she said, by the fall hurricanes and a focus on her congressional work.
“The only issue where we have to focus now is fundraising,” she said. “We will not pay much attention to polling a year out. A year to go is a world of difference, and polls won’t change until we go up on TV.”
The scary part is, she’s right. Bill Nelson, God love him, isn’t Mr. Excitement when speaking. And Katherine has started working the cult of personality thing pretty hard.
I wish I felt safe ruling her out but even if she fails to win over her own party by its unofficial Dec. 31 deadline, the prospects for her possible replacements – like Florida House Speaker Allan Bense – worry me even more. Let’s hope the newfound questioning of Republicans by the voters continues and intensifies.
