SARASOTA - The Ritz-Carlton staff beamed as the woman in pearls and blue St. John pants suit strode across the marble lobby.
"Hi, Ms. Jennings!"
"Great to see you again, Ms. Jennings!"
And well they might know Christine Jennings. As founder and CEO of a community bank, she became a millionaire who also made a lot of investors a lot of money. As the gung-ho leader of civic endeavors ranging from the Ringling Museum to the Sarasota Film Festival, she won a host of admirers.
Lately, some of the state's savviest Democratic leaders and strategists are quietly buzzing: Is this the candidate who could actually unseat U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris?
It's an uphill battle, no doubt. Calling Democratic prospects of beating Harris a stretch would be generous. The national Democratic Party more or less writes off the race.
Democrats account for about 30 percent of the electorate in the district that includes Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto and Hardee counties, as well as part of Charlotte County.
And Harris - Florida's secretary of state during the 2000 presidential election - is both a national hero to conservatives and a fundraising dynamo who spent more than $23 for every vote she received in 2002. Harris won her first congressional race by nearly 10 percentage points, and has already raised more than $800,000 for her re-election.
But the District 13 congressional race will still be one of the most watched in Florida. University of South Florida political scientist Susan MacManus, who analyzes local public opinion for Sarasota County, sees it as one of only two Florida congressional races worth watching this year, largely because of the potential appeal of Jennings. The other pits Democratic U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd of Monticello against Republican state Rep. Bev Kilmer.
If anybody can win over the Sarasota area's moderate Republicans, some say, it's a polished, centrist business leader like Jennings.
"Her appeal runs right across the gamut" said former Sarasota Mayor Mollie Cardamone, a Republican who's about to switch parties to help Jennings in the Democratic primary. "I hope the Democratic Party sees she's the electable candidate."
Jennings, 58, looks a little like a manicured, socialite version of Meryl Streep. In other words, she has the same touch of high-powered glamour that Katherine Harris does.
Except that Jennings is a self-made millionaire who never graduated from college and started her career as a bank teller at 17. In 1992, she founded Sarasota Bank, which Colonial Bank bought last year for $40.5-million. Investors saw their shares rise from $10 per share to $62.11 over 11 years.
As a community banker, Jennings said she always kept her politics to herself. But politics was a big part of her life growing up in Ohio, where her father was a union organizer at a steel mill and her mother led a Democratic club.
"I grew up in a very Democratic home, and I have followed politics closely all my life," Jenning said, showing a picture of her childhood home with a lawn packed with Democratic campaign signs. "I am a moderate, and I really believe the majority of people in this district vote for the person and not the party. I think people in this district want a change."
She announced her candidacy in mid-March, surprising many community leaders who had never seen a hint of political interest on her part. She promptly put $50,000 in her campaign account and raised another $46,000 by the end of March.
"I have been angry for three years," she said last week over lunch at the Ritz, citing the war in Iraq, the rising federal deficit, and loss of jobs. "There are times when I have read the newspaper that my stomach cramps for what is going on. We need to change this administration, and the Democrats need to be in charge of this nation."
An anti-Bush message may sound like a lousy idea for this GOP stronghold, but some prominent local Republicans disagree.
"There are times when the best of Republicans lose because of circumstances in the country and the community. I'm not impressed with the actions of Mr. Bush, and I talk to a number of people who are registered Republicans who are not going to vote for George Bush. It's pretty common," said Marlow Cook, a Jennings supporter and former Republican U.S. senator from Kentucky who has lived in Sarasota for 14 years.
Former Mayor Cardamone said that while she likes Harris personally, the congresswoman has become too aligned with the conservative wing of the GOP that doesn't represent the district. "Moderate Republicans here are very concerned about the war, the deficit, the religious right," she said.
Jennings, though, is a political rookie, starting late and still learning the issues. She faces three other credible Democrats vying to take on Harris:
Attorney Jan Schneider ran against Harris in 2002. Despite being overwhelmingly outspent and being little known in the community, she won more than 45 percent of the vote. Schneider appears to be the Democratic front-runner, with extensive support among party activists. She has been campaigning relentlessly, and since 2002 has taken image lessons (resulting in a new hairstyle and, some say, a more polished presentation style) and even shooting lessons (to better relate to rural voters).
But many Democrats question Schneider's ability to connect with voters, which is reflected in the crowded field challenging her for the nomination.
Palmetto attorney C.J. Czaia is well known and a charismatic speaker. But he overwhelmingly lost a state Senate race in 2002 and some Democrats shudder at the thought of a potential campaign ad against him: Czaia once represented Joseph P. Smith, recently accused of abducting and killing an 11-year-old Sarasota girl, Carlie Brucia.
Community college teacher Floyd Winters has also put $50,000 of his own money into his campaign, but is less known than his rivals and viewed as an underdog.
"You have to say Christine is someone who would be a good candidate, but I don't see her making it out of the primary," said Tramm Hudson, Sarasota County Republican chairman.
Could a Democrat really even win that seat? It's a serious long shot, but stranger things have happened.
The little-known Schneider, after all, won more than 45 percent of the vote in 2002, though Democrats only account for 30 percent of the electorate. Only 47 percent of registered Democrats turned out, compared to 67 percent of Republicans. And while Harris is a celebrity, she is not quite the local powerhouse some people assume. She won with a comfortable 9.6 percent margin in 2002, but Jeb Bush won the district by nearly 18 percent.
"You've got to know when Katherine (Harris) looks out at that field, Christine is the one she's most worried about," said Ed Chiles, a businessman in Manatee County and son of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles. "I can almost make the case that getting out of the primary is Christine's biggest challenge."
- Adam C. Smith can be reached at 727 893-8241 or adam@sptimes.com
