Millionaire Senate candidate Doug Gallagher takes an aggressive tack in a televised Republican debate.
By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published August 11, 2004
WINTER PARK - In the first statewide TV debate among Republican U.S. Senate candidates, millionaire Doug Gallagher tried Tuesday to slow Mel Martinez's momentum by repeatedly criticizing his past as a trial lawyer.
Martinez was forced to restate his opposition to a $250,000 limit on damages in malpractice cases.
That puts him at odds with his rivals and with President Bush, who campaigned in the Panhandle on Tuesday, saying of Democrats: "You cannot be pro-doctor and pro-patient and pro-trial lawyer at the same time."
Martinez was a personal injury lawyer for 25 years and once led the state trial-bar lobby. Now he seeks to distance himself from his past.
He supports a $500,000 cap, and he deflected the criticism by citing endorsements from business groups and key Republican senators who also want new limits on lawsuits.
"They believe that I will work with them to get effective tort reform done," Martinez said.
In an hourlong forum broadcast from WESH in Orlando, the four rivals praised President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq and supported tax cuts and the education accountability law, known as No Child Left Behind.
They differed on stem cell research, with Martinez and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd siding with Bush in opposition to expanded research using embryos. Former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum and Gallagher endorsed expanded research, though both pronounced themselves "pro-life."
Throughout the debate, broadcast live on seven NBC stations, McCollum showed a command of issues, stressing the importance of his experience in a time of war and terrorism fears.
"I'm the one candidate who doesn't need on-the-job training," McCollum said.
Byrd smiled through many of his answers, exuding optimism as he spoke of his record as a legislator who cut taxes and fought trial lawyers in Tallahassee.
Martinez attached himself closely to the president he served for three years as housing secretary, and Gallagher alone opposed any sanctions against Americans who buy prescription drugs from Canada.
Polls show McCollum leads the pack, but his lead has slowly shrunk while Martinez has closed the gap to second place, matching McCollum in fundraising.
On a night when his three rivals generally played it safe, Gallagher went on the attack, taking advantage of a format in which candidates questioned each other. The strategy has a risk: Some undecided voters may see Gallagher as overly negative.
Gallagher charged that Martinez has accepted $400,000 in contributions from trial lawyers, and that such donations "have corrupted our system in Washington."
Martinez denied the charge and said he has to rely on money from supporters, because "I am not as rich as you."
Gallagher has spent more than $3.6-million of his own money on his bid. He seeks to move up in a race where polls show many voters are undecided, banking on his appeal as a non-lawyer who's not part of what he derisively refers to as "the Washington establishment."
Gallagher said his candidacy gives voters a choice: "a businessman or more career politicians or lawyers, which is exactly what I don't think we need in Washington."
Martinez, by contrast, embraces the establishment and is running as the candidate closest to the White House.
But Gallagher accused Martinez of suing Disney and Sea World and he dredged up a 1977 case in which Martinez's law firm sued First Baptist Church of Orlando in a slip and fall case.
Republican voters will choose a nominee Aug. 31 for the seat that has been held since 1986 by Democrat Bob Graham.
Three other Republican Senate candidates were excluded from the debate by WESH and the Orlando Sentinel, because their poll numbers were below 5 percent. They are lawyers Larry Klayman of Miami and Sonya March of St. Petersburg, and Billy Kogut, an Ormond Beach real estate agent.
An eighth Republican candidate, Karen Saull of Vero Beach, recently dropped out of the race, but her name will remain on ballots that have already been printed.
