Ex-senator from N.H. will compete for Graham's seat
By Associated Press
Published December 18, 2003
MIAMI - Former New Hampshire Sen. Bob Smith said Wednesday he will seek the seat of retiring Sen. Bob Graham in a race to represent his newly adopted home state of Florida.
Smith, a Republican who moved to Sarasota last May, told the Associated Press that he would make a formal announcement in January.
Smith, 62, was hired as a real estate specialist in June to sell high-end waterfront properties in Longboat Key. He served two terms in the Senate before he was defeated by New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu in last year's primary.
A social conservative, Smith was frequently at odds with the GOP establishment. He quit the party and ran for president in 1999, saying the Republican platform was "not worth the paper it's written on." He rejoined the party a few months later.
Long considered a maverick, Smith was one of only five senators who voted against the 1991 Civil Rights Act, one of three who voted against the National Energy Policy Act in 1992 and one of three to vote against confirming the nomination of Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court. "I was right, and the other 93 senators were wrong," he said at the time about the civil rights vote.
If elected, Smith would become the first American in modern history to represent two states in the Senate.
Smith enters a crowded primary field that includes former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, state Sen. Dan Webster, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd and Miami lawyer Larry Klayman. Former U.S. Housing Secretary Mel Martinez is expected to enter the race and U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris is still mulling her future.
