Threat to the G.O.P.?

By Perry Bacon Jr.

It's hardly shocking that Democrats wince at the mention of Katherine Harris, the former Florida secretary of state who they believe unfairly favored President George W. Bush in the recount of the 2000 election. But since Harris announced her bid for the Senate in 2006, the people doing the most recoiling are the mightiest of Republicans: the Bush family. Instead of supporting her campaign, top Republican officials have been trying to kill it, first by begging retired General Tommy Franks to enter the race and--after he turned them down--courting someone with almost zero name recognition, Florida house speaker Allan Bense, to run against Harris, who is now in her second term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Florida Governor Jeb Bush has made several recruiting calls to Bense, who headed to Washington last week where he was serenaded by a powerful trio--the President's top political adviser Karl Rove, Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman and Elizabeth Dole, who heads the Senate committee for recruiting G.O.P. candidates.

Why the hard sell? Republicans in Florida and Washington think Harris would be an electoral disaster, not only losing her Senate race but driving up turnout among Democrats, which might bring down other Republicans on the ballot. G.O.P. bigwigs point to a Quinnipiac University poll released last week that showed Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson leading Harris 50% to 38%. Her supporters say Harris, who decided against a Senate run in 2004 after G.O.P. officials told her she could hurt President Bush's re-election prospects, was led to believe party officials would support her this time. Adam Goldman, a Harris adviser, said she is determined to run no matter what. That leaves the Bushes with a few hurdles to overcome: Bense hasn't decided whether he wants to run against such a well-known figure, and the Quinnipiac poll showed Harris leading Bense 54% to 6% among Republicans. Says Bense: "I am a nobody."