Poll Puts Katherine Harris in Race for Graham’s Seat

She still hasn’t said she’s running, but Katherine Harris may get drafted into the race for the U.S. Senate seat Democrat Bob Graham is vacating.

According to a recent St. Petersburg/Miami Herald poll, 29 percent of Floridian Republicans back Harris, putting her ahead of both Bill McCollum, with 16 percent, and former HUD Secretary Mel Martinez, who pulled 11 percent.

However, 38 percent were still undecided, leaving the Republican side of the race anyone’s to win.

Martinez recently shared a stage with his potential rival and George W. Bush when the president signed the American Dream Down Payment Act, which Harris introduced in the House.

But some Republicans worry about repeated images of Bush and Harris – the secretary of state who certified his 2000 Florida win - going around the state sharing a stage together. GOP strategists fear it will energize Democrats, who heckled Harris’ photo when it appeared on a screen at the Democratic Party convention this month.

Harris, for her part, has more of two key ingredients in the recipe for a political victory than any other candidate: 1) name recognition, which translates into 2) nationwide fund-raising ability. Together, these could help her claim the open seat, which the GOP badly wants to pick up in a presidential year.

Martinez resigned his position as HUD secretary to enter the race at the apparent urging of Bush adviser Karl Rove, who no doubt sees the potential boon of a Cuban American candidacy in a state with both a large Republican-voting Cuban population and 27 electoral votes.

Though Harris has said Rove did call to assure her of White House neutrality, the call came while she was away on a trade-related trip to South America.

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