The state senator and former House speaker joins a Republican field getting crowded with Central Floridians.
By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published August 20, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - Daniel Webster, a soft-spoken state senator from the Orlando area who became Florida's first Republican House speaker in 122 years, is joining the GOP field for U.S. Senate.
When he enters the race today, surrounded by friends in the Pine Hills community west of Orlando, Webster will become the third Republican Senate candidate from Central Florida. He plans to aim his support of limited government, low taxes and deep religious faith to social and fiscal conservatives.
"I believe I'm a true conservative," Webster said. "I believe in less government, stronger families, stronger communities, and I feel I definitely would be a team player."
Two other Republicans, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd of Plant City and former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum of Orlando, are seeking to appeal to the same voters. Another Central Floridian with a conservative record, U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon of Palm Bay, has been raising money and might enter the race.
U.S. Rep. Mark Foley of West Palm Beach is the lone Republican with a moderate political profile from outside Central Florida. Foley also is the early leader in fundraising, with $2.9-million on hand at the end of June.
Without a runoff, a crowded field means a candidate could clinch the nomination with less than a third of the statewide vote.
Webster was first elected to the House in 1980, when Republicans were a small minority as House Democrats are today. He was the Republican leader in 1996 when the GOP took control of the House, and became his party's first speaker since the Reconstruction era.
The 54-year-old Webster, married and the father of six children, is a native of Charleston, W.Va. He moved to Orlando as a boy. He received a degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech in 1971, and owns a family-run air conditioning company.
He listed a net worth of $351,000 in his 2003 financial disclosure form. His largest single source of income was his $29,000 salary as a state senator.
Webster faces some formidable challenges. For one, he has not appeared on an election ballot since 1984, when he defeated Democrat Dick Batchelor to claim a state House seat in suburban Orlando. He has won without opposition in every election since.
"To one degree or another, that's a problem that faces every political leader," Webster said. "Those are things that are solved by running hard."
