Harris Deliberates, Democrats Drool

A frenzy is building over speculation about whether Katherine Harris will decide to run for the Senate seat Democrat Bob Graham is leaving behind.

Democratic National Committee spokesman Tony Welch has dubbed Harris one of the "best get out the vote weapons" for the Democratic Party and said: "If she gets in, she answers many Democrats’ prayers. She’s an absolute lock for the Republican nomination and an absolute lock to lose the general election."

But new numbers from a late December poll by the Florida Chamber Political Institute say White House pick Mel Martinez is now the GOP front-runner in the race. Of 800 likely voters, 15 percent preferred Martinez in the week following his resignation as HUD secretary.

Harris, however, has her own polls, which she says put her 5 points ahead of Betty Castor, the Democrats’ front-runner.

"They can't win with the candidates they've got for the general, and the pollsters think I can," said Harris of the other Republicans in the race.

Her numbers have convinced her, she says, that her candidacy would turn out more than enough Republicans to offset the electric shock it would give to the Democrat base, and that she could win the seat without hurting President Bush’s chances for re-election.

"When people look back, there are so many ways that I've been vindicated," said Harris, who has a leadership post with the GOP Whip team. "We've moved on."

Harris was brutally satirized by "Saturday Night Live" after her role in the 2000 recount fiasco. But Republican strategists believe she raised more money nationally for GOP candidates in 2002 than anyone else.

The last available FEC report shows she had raised more than $500,000 for her re-election effort, which could be seed money in a Senate race. Martinez has just begun to fund raise.

Rep. Tom Reynolds, the fund-raising chairman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, has asked Harris to stay in the House, reportedly telling her, "You’re a big part of this conference." Other Republicans have urged Harris to wait until 2006 and run against Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

"That’s a nice thought," Harris responded, "but given the choice between an open seat or an incumbent, that’s a really easy decision."

But while Republicans are begging Harris to stay put, Democrats aren’t the only ones slobbering all over the place for a Harris candidacy. The media can hardly contain themselves in their eagerness to see Harris running side by side with Bush.

In an editorial titled "Bring 'em On," the St. Petersburg Times gushed, "We’re sure we speak for news organizations everywhere when we say: Run, Katherine, run."

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