HarrisWatch: No One Here Gets Out AliveWe’ve long observed how Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) has succeeded in setting fire to her own political ambitions. But speculation is growing that she could cause casualties beyond her own Senate dreams.
Harris has trailed by as many as 30 percentage points behind incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D). Although we note with admiration that she has recently trimmed his lead to a mere 18 points now, no one outside the Harris campaign expects the gap to disappear — or switch to Harris’ favor.
Now the New York Times reports that Harris may claim casualties beyond herself. The House seat she gave up to run for Senate, once a sure thing for Republicans, is now in danger of falling into Democratic hands.
Florida’s 13th District, which Harris currently represents in Congress, is historically Republican. But the GOP candidate to replace Harris, Vern Buchanan, isn’t faring well in the current climate. A recent Democratic poll even showed his challenger, Christine Jennings, beating him by eight points.
And that’s not all: the Florida governor’s race is tight, and expected to get tighter. If Harris’ candidacy discourages GOP moderates from going to the polls on election day, as we’ve discussed before, it could hurt Republican candidate Charlie Crist, who’s been unable to top 49 percent in polls for the gubernatorial race. Meanwhile, support for the Democratic challenger, Jim Davis — still unknown to two in every five Floridians — continues to rise, polling recently at 43 percent. “Davis has a lot more room to grow for people to view him favorably,” pollster Del Ali told the Bradenton Herald last week. “Once they view him favorably, they can turn into his votes.”
Finally, the race for Florida’s 22nd District House seat could also get thrown to the Dems if GOP voters don’t show up at the polls. The most recent poll — albeit from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — shows Rep. Clay Shaw (R) clinging to a four-point lead over his challenger, State Sen. Ron Klein (D).
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