Betty Castor may be the strongest candidate to win Bob Graham's seat, but she must win over Democrats first.
By ADAM C. SMITH
Published April 12, 2004
BOCA RATON - Betty Castor barely started to answer a question on health care when shouts erupted from the retirees gathered at a massive condo complex.
"Loudah! Loudah!" they yelled in their New York accents, several cupping their ears to hear her.
It's been 14 years since the Democratic front-runner for Bob Graham's U.S. Senate seat has been on the campaign trail.
But Castor's too-quiet answer at the Century Village complex was about the only sign of rustiness as she campaigned across Palm Beach County last week. A month shy of 63 and facing suggestions from rivals that her time has passed, Castor looked every bit the energetic, sharp politician that veteran observers remember.
The former University of South Florida president works a room with a smile, hugs and effortless schmoozing. When a group of fourth-grade Head Start students recited Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, Castor jumped to her feet and applauded. She laughed when someone at Century Village suggested her son, an assistant state attorney in Palm Beach County, make sure Rush Limbaugh does time for illegal prescription drug purchases.
"I will guarantee you I will tell my son, and he will fight hard to put Rush Limbaugh away . . . or at least get him off the air," she quipped, as Frank Castor watched miserably. (He has nothing to do with the Limbaugh case his office is pursuing.)
Castor can charm. She can win over potent interest groups, including the state teachers union and Emily's List, a national fundraising organization for Democratic women.
The former two-term state education commissioner leads in the polls, has a long scandal-free record in public service and is the only Senate candidate of either party who has won statewide races in Florida. Most Republican and Democratic leaders view Castor, a centrist woman with potentially broad appeal, as the strongest Democrat for the general election.
Yet Castor has yet to quash doubts about her ability to win the Democratic nomination. She faces two credible and well-funded rivals, U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch of Broward County and Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas.
"Everyone's going to watch this campaign pretty carefully. It's what you do when you've seen a rocky start," Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington, said of Castor.
The slow start is largely the result of weak early fundraising that fueled questions about her ability to win the nomination. Without the money-raising advantages of someone already holding elected office, Castor struggled to keep up with Deutsch and Penelas as months of uncertainty about Graham's plans sidelined many donors.
Around the first of the year, she shook up her campaign staff and brought in a new campaign manager, Deborah Reed, who has led several other campaigns for Emily's List-backed candidates. She also raised $1.2-million in the first three months of 2004.
Duffy and other observers said Castor appears to have regained her footing as the front-runner. But she still lags in money, which even with her advantage in name recognition is crucial in a state where television ads are key. Castor has about $1.6-million, compared with about $4.6-million for Deutsch and $2.1-million for Penelas.
Emily's List could both raise money for Castor and independently buy TV ads to help her. The group spent $1.3-million on ads that helped Debbie Stabenow win Michigan's Senate race in 2000. Deutsch said Emily's List should be prosecuted for illegally coordinating campaign activity if it provides similar assistance for Castor, a charge the organization rejects.
"That kind of groundless lashing out is typical of his style," said Emily's List spokeswoman Ramona Oliver.
The South Florida congressman dismisses talk of Castor as the likely nominee. A Mason-Dixon poll released last week showed Castor with a two-to-one lead over Deutsch among Democrats, but four in 10 Democrats are undecided.
"Betty has a fundamental problem in this race, and it's that she really hasn't raised that much money," Deutsch said. "It's weird how little money she raised. . . . I'm not running a campaign that was literally taken over by a Washington special interest group."
Castor said 15 to 20 percent of her money was raised through Emily's List, and she sees a spike in interest among big and small contributors. Joining her staff of about a dozen soon will be Larry Biddle, a top fundraiser for former presidential candidate Howard Dean.
The onetime teacher and state Senate leader speaks broadly about improving schools, expanding access to health care and working to create higher paying jobs. She's still learning the intricacies of federal issues, but dismisses suggestions that her lack of federal experience is a weakness.
"If I had been in the Senate, I would have voted against No Child Left Behind because I would have known better," she said, referring to the president's education initiative that many Democrats, including Deutsch, initially supported.
While she won two campaigns as education commissioner, this is the first time Castor has faced a tough statewide race.
Her last race for education commissioner, in 1990, pitted her against eccentric former Gov. Claude Kirk, whom she outspent 30 to one. Her Republican opponent in 1986 was a little known teacher named Ron Howard, who sought to capitalize on having the same name as the well-known actor and director.
Her toughest race, she said, was when she was one of 13 candidates for the Hillsborough County Commission. That was 1972, when President Nixon won re-election.
Castor said she is prepared for a rough Senate race but plans to stay positive.
"Am I silly enough to think that because of my front-runner status that they're not going to start attacking me in every way?" she asked. "No. What we will be prepared to do is answer those as vigorously and as openly and honestly as we can. And our fundraising will be competitive, I can guarantee you that."
