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© St. Petersburg Times, published November 6, 2002
After years of fighting by proxy, former Pasco Sheriff Lee Cannon and state Rep. Mike Fasano went head to head Tuesday in a Senate race that left Cannon's political career on the ropes.
Fasano beat the former sheriff by a wide margin for Senate District 11, which stretches from northern Pinellas County through western Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties to the Levy County line.
It's the second recent political defeat for Cannon. He lost his eight-year post as Pasco sheriff two years ago to Bob White, a political unknown heavily backed by Fasano.
On Tuesday, Fasano easily won in all four counties.
"We're very pleased," Fasano said, "not only with the support in all four counties but also in the support from volunteers and grass-roots efforts from Republicans, Democrats and independents."
Cannon congratulated Fasano on Tuesday night.
"I hope he does a good job," Cannon said. "We just want the state to move forward. We hope he addresses education."
Cannon said he thought campaign contributions made a difference in the race in paying for mailers and messages to voters. By mid October, Fasano had collected almost $350,000, compared with Cannon's almost $64,000.
While both candidates fought for name recognition in Pinellas, Hernando and Citrus counties, their political experiences were rooted in Pasco. Still, Fasano won almost two-thirds of the vote in Pasco, the county with the biggest share of the district's voters.
Until Tuesday's duel, Cannon and Fasano fought through political allies. Before Cannon's upset in 2000, a Fasano supporter on the County Commission regularly battled with then-Sheriff Cannon, primarily over his budget requests. In 1996 one of Cannon's deputies, Brian Prescott, narrowly lost to Fasano for the District 45 House seat.
During recent campaign debates, Cannon, 57, criticized Fasano's eight-year record in the Legislature. Fasano, 44, touted the Republican administration's increase in education spending and his trying to help senior citizens gain access to cheaper generic prescription drugs.