Gallagher begins TV ad barrage aimed at Martinez, McCollum
By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published August 21, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - The latest TV ads in Florida's U.S. Senate race depict two candidates turning into M&Ms, the candy that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.
But there's nothing sweet about the message.
In the ads, Republican Doug Gallagher criticizes Mel Martinez and Bill McCollum, the two men ahead of him in polls 10 days before the statewide GOP primary. The ads call McCollum "a lobbyist beholden to special interests" and Martinez "president of the trial lawyers."
"No more M&Ms," the announcer says. "We need a Florida bolt of lightning named Doug Gallagher."
Other than saying Gallagher will govern "our way," the ads give voters no information about his background or stands on issues.
McCollum is a registered lobbyist in Washington for the law firm of Baker & Hostetler. Martinez is a former president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers.
The ads took flight Friday in most Florida TV markets as Gallagher sharpens his message as an alternative to his rivals. The campaign said Gallagher bought 1,000 rating points in major markets, which means the typical viewer will see an ad 10 times.
Martinez, meanwhile, continued to outpace McCollum in fundraising. The former U.S. housing secretary collected $821,000 in the five weeks ending Aug. 11, compared with $456,000 for McCollum.
Martinez reported $2.3-million cash on hand at the end of the latest reporting period; McCollum, $1.7-million.
The Martinez campaign said it raised $100,000 from one mailing that said Martinez's election is critical to President Bush's winning re-election in Florida. "My campaign will help draw thousands of new profamily and Cuban-American Republicans to the ballot box - voters who will also cast a ballot for President Bush," the mailing says.
Gallagher, 55, is a wealthy business executive who has spent nearly $6-million of his own money on a long-shot campaign. But as the race enters its final full week with many voters still undecided in polls, he says he views the contest as winnable.
The most lavishly self-funded candidate in Florida history is trying techniques such as blanketing 450,000 homes of GOP primary voters with a biographical DVD and giving screenings of a biographical movie in theaters.
Gallagher is the younger brother of Tom Gallagher, Florida's chief financial officer, who is widely expected to seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2006.
