Betty Castor took her campaign to Philadelphia on Monday, where she raised money with two other Democratic Senate hopefuls, Ken Salazar of Colorado and Barack Obama of Illinois.
The three jointly raised money at a Hyatt hotel for a fundraising committee called America's Hope for a Majority.
Castor returned to Florida with more money, but the star of the show was Obama, who's pulling large crowds and riding a wave of star power since his prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July.
As Castor touched down in Florida, the National Republican Senatorial Committee a issued a release suggesting Castor shares Obama's views on crime, gun control, education and the war in Iraq.
Examples: "Obama voted against making it harder for children to access pornography on school computers," and "Obama called the Iraq war a "cynical attempt by ... armchair, weekend warriors ... to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats."'
TAX TALK: The conservative-leaning Americans for Tax Reform has set its sights on Betty Castor.
The Washington group criticizes Castor for wanting to roll back tax cuts on the wealthy, which it says will also affect middle-class taxpayers, particularly married, middle-class couples and business owners.
"Betty Castor wants to destroy the tax relief President Bush fought to give scores of hardworking Americans," said ATR president Grover Norquist. "How can Betty Castor say she supports small businesses and middle class families when she trying to stick them with a huge tax hike?"
Since 1986, ATR, which opposes all tax increases, has asked candidates to sign a pledge opposing any effort to increase federal income taxes on individuals and businesses.
Castor has refused to sign it nine times. Mel Martinez signed the first time.
CRYSTAL BALL: A few predictions from pollster Rob Schroth:
If the election were this week, President Bush would carry Florida and win re-election.
The president and his younger brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, have come out of the hurricanes looking "very well," Schroth says. Voters like the empathy they see from the Bushes more than the sound of one candidate chewing on another.
If Bush does win Florida, he's likely to take former housing secretary Mel Martinez with him. Martinez is the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Bob Graham.
If U.S. Sen. John Kerry wins Florida, former University of South Florida president Betty Castor is likely to win the Senate seat, Schroth says.
There is little chance Democrats will regain power in Florida, where the GOP controls the Legislature, Cabinet and governor's office.
"I used to be an adviser to the Florida Democratic Party, and they are out to lunch," Schroth told executives of the St. Petersburg Times.
DEBATE WATCH: Betty Castor and Republican rival Mel Martinez have agreed to two statewide TV debates, but two others still have not come together. The Senate candidates will appear together from 7 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 18 in a debate on Florida's NBC stations, moderated by NBC's Tim Russert, and will face off again a week later in a TV debate sponsored by the Miami Herald and Miami's WFOR-Channel 4.
Meanwhile, Castor on Friday put to rest speculation that she might be distancing herself from John Kerry, having been mostly absent at his Florida appearances. At the University of South Florida on Friday she enthusiastically joined Kerry on stage, along with U.S. Rep. Jim Davis and Sen. Bill Nelson.
McCOLLUM RETURNS: His political career is over, temporarily anyway, but Bill McCollum is back on the circuit. The former Republican Senate candidate, who lost the nomination to Mel Martinez, will be in Nashville on Monday debating - get this - Al Gore.
The subject: America's foreign policy.
Times staff writers Steve Bousquet, Anita Kumar, Lucy Morgan and Adam C. Smith contributed to this week's column. Send tips to bousquet@sptimes.com or call 727 893-8472.
