Election 2004

McCollum reintroduces himself in ads

U.S. Senate candidate Bill McCollum reminds voters why he's leading a crowded field.

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published July 21, 2004

TALLAHASSEE - Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bill McCollum began reintroducing himself to Florida voters Tuesday with a biographical TV ad citing his experience and "conservative values."

The ad surfaced first in the heavily Republican Jacksonville and Fort Myers TV markets and goes statewide today. In a collage of still-frame images of McCollum, he is described as "passionate, a fighter, a leader, a patriot" and as "the lone voice (who) warned Bill Clinton about Osama Bin Laden."

That claim is made in Losing Bin Laden, a 2003 book about Clinton's handling of terrorist threats by investigative reporter Richard Miniter.

McCollum served 20 years in Congress until 2000 when he left to run for the Senate. He lost to Democrat Bill Nelson, but he has been the front-runner in a crowded field this time.

McCollum even uses some of the same images from ads in that 2000 race, including a brief shot of him with former President Reagan and a Reaganesque closing gesture where he nods to the camera and folds his arms.

A radio version is feistier. It contains the line, "Bill McCollum won't need on-the-job training to serve in the United States Senate," a jab at Republican opponent Mel Martinez, who has not served in Congress.

McCollum and Martinez, the former housing secretary under President Bush, are locked in a battle for supremacy among conservative voters.

McCollum was in Tampa on Tuesday raising money and accepting an endorsement from former House Majority Leader Dick Armey. The former Texas congressman is now a Washington lobbyist and co-chairman of Citizens for a Sound Economy, which favors lower taxes and smaller government.

Martinez and another candidate, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, signed an oath with the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary supporting an "up-or-down vote" on President Bush's nominees to federal judgeships.

Republican Senate candidate Doug Gallagher has increased his personal stake in the race.

Gallagher, the brother of Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, has spent another $500,000 of his own money on his bid. He notified the Federal Elections Commission on Friday that his total personal investment in the race is now $3.1-million.

Gallagher planned to launch TV ads in Orlando on Tuesday, the only market where he has not run ads. He also will premiere a biographical movie at a theater in Miami's Little Havana.

The Gallagher movie also will be shown in movie theaters across the state.

[Last modified July 20, 2004, 23:13:25]