First, U.S. Senate candidate Peter Deutsch criticized fellow Democrat Alex Penelas. Then he turned his sights to frontrunning Betty Castor. But those attacks may be hurting him, instead of helping him.
Editorial boards at many major papers in Florida have recommended Castor, a former state education commissioner, in the Aug. 31 primary. Some have specifically condemned Deutsch for the attacks.
"For all of Rep. Deutsch's experience, he has spent more time attacking his opponents than discussing his record," according to the Palm Beach Post's editorial backing Castor.
Castor also has been recommended for the Aug. 31 primary by the St. Petersburg Times, the Miami Herald, the Tampa Tribune and the Orlando Sentinel, among others. Even the Jewish Journal backed Castor over Deutsch, who is Jewish and lives in South Florida, where the newspaper is widely distributed.
Deutsch's only endorsement is from his hometown paper, the Fort Lauderdale-based South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The Naples Daily News and the Daily Commercial (Leesburg) in Central Florida both endorsed Penelas, the mayor of Miami-Dade County.
ARRESTING AD: Candidates love to be photographed with police. So it's no surprise that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Johnnie Byrd posed in a recent TV ad with Hillsborough sheriff's deputies. Besides, he has the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Just one problem: Those deputies now say they knew nothing about the ad. The Sheriff's Office has a policy against deputies appearing in uniform in political ads.
Sheriff's spokesman Rod Reder said the deputies didn't know they were being filmed by Byrd's campaign team. They may have thought the cameras belonged to TV crews, he said.
TV stations attended a ceremony at the American Victory Mariners Memorial & Museum Ship at the Port of Tampa where Byrd officially kicked off his Senate campaign. The TV station crews weren't there before the ceremony, though they were when the ad was filmed, said Jay Martin, Victory Ship executive director.
Byrd's campaign manager, Wayne Garcia, said the deputies knew exactly what they were doing. They gave a release to be shown in the ad. "They were aware. There was an 11-person crew," he said.
COOL CUSTOMER: Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has long been known as one of the state's most photogenic personalities with his naturally-dark complexion, winsome smile and coiffed hair.
So reporters immediately noticed that at a news conference on price gouging Tuesday, Crist's staff took the trouble to position a portable fan at his feet to keep him from sweating in the lights. (The blower was out of camera range, of course).
Crist, always slow to rise, took the comments in stride. "Fortunately we don't need a generator for it up here," quipped the A.G., who spent much of the week touring hurricane damage in the power-starved regions in southwest and Central Florida.
MOVEON.ORG IS ADDING paid reinforcements in Florida in an effort to turn out 20,000 new voters to defeat President Bush. The liberal grass-roots group's political action committee expects to hire about 50 organizers in Florida in coming weeks, said David Edeli of MoveOn PAC.
Tampa Bay volunteers and staffers are scheduled to meet today in St. Petersburg and Tampa to kick off their voter mobilization effort, which is expected to cost roughly $500,000 in Florida.
"The best way to get folks to go in and vote for the right person is to have their friends and neighbors talk to them," said Edeli, estimating that about 1,000 precincts in Florida will be targeted by MoveOn.
PERHAPS THE ONLY benefit of not being taken seriously as a political contender is that you avoid much media scrutiny. Such may be the case of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sonya March of St. Petersburg. The long shot candidate has been largely ignored by the media and excluded from televised debates because of her low poll numbers.
The attorney and Air Force veteran contends that her lack of political experience would not hinder her ability as a senator. But as part of a 2002 Pinellas County lawsuit concerning injuries sustained in a 1998 car wreck, March testified under oath that she was permanently unable to work because of physical and mental problems.
She cited extensive neck and back injuries and "major depression" which made her unable to accept any job. "All of my injuries are permanent and continuing in nature," March swore in legal papers. She also said she had been treated at a veterans hospital for depression and bipolar disease.
Asked how she could work as a senator, March said she's determined to put her skills to productive use, and "I still believe I can do anything if I put my mind to it. . . . I'm just living on faith that I can do it." She noted that former Gov. Lawton Chiles also at one time took medication for depression.
HE'S BACK: Jeffrey Saull, the Vero Beach office-chair import magnate who plowed millions of his family's money into a pair of failed political campaigns this election year, said last week he plans to run for governor in 2006.
Saull told the Palm Beach Post Thursday he could easily take on Republican stalwarts and anticipated gubernatorial hopefuls Tom Gallagher, Toni Jennings and Charlie Crist for the nomination because of the "grass-roots movement" he created this year when he launched a citizen initiative drive to double the state's homestead exemption for property owners.
So far, however, Saull's record isn't so good. Not only did the Florida Supreme Court throw out his proposed constitutional amendment on property taxes, his wife, Karen Saull, folded up her campaign for U.S. Senate early, saying she was frustrated with the lack of respect from the Republican establishment.
BENSE'S TEAM: House speaker-in-waiting Allan Bense has named Rep. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, as the next House majority leader. It's the first of many appointments Bense will make as he prepares to take charge for the next two years, after the November elections.
"He has very good natural political radar," Bense said. "I wanted to start early building up the office."
Gardiner, 35, is executive director of the Apopka Chamber of Commerce. He defeated former Christian Coalition leader John Dowless in a runoff in 2000.
Bense will become speaker Nov. 16 if Republicans keep control of the House, a likely outcome of an election with so many Republicans running unopposed.
FAHRENHEIT 11/2: Filmmaker Michael Moore's movie Fahrenheit 9/11 has anti-Bush activists cheering in theaters across the country. So being seen with the filmmaker is a sure way to please diehard Democratic Bush haters. That may explain why Moore is pictured in an advertisement for the Peter Deutsch U.S. Senate campaign that appears in the Aug. 17 Florida Sentinel Bulletin.
Moore, in his trademark ball cap, is shown standing next to Lori and Peter Deutsch, along with U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville. They are identified as Deutsch "supporters and friends."
Moore's celebrity status may help with Democratic primary voters. But then comes the general election on Nov. 2, a time for reaching beyond the party faithful to pick up a few Republican votes. Being associated with Moore may not be such a hot idea then.
Times staff writers Anita Kumar, David Karp, Joni James, Adam C. Smith and Lucy Morgan contributed to the Buzz. Have a tip? Call 850 224-7263 or write to bousquet@sptimes.com
