ORLANDO - You'd never know it from their attack ads that Betty Castor and Mel Martinez both hope to emulate Bob Graham's moderate brand of politics in the U.S. Senate.
One of them will take Graham's place after Tuesday's election, but their ability to get things done will depend largely on two factors beyond their control: who wins the White House and which party controls the Senate.
Castor, a lifelong educator and Democrat who introduced John Kerry at a Tampa rally Sunday night, wants to work on education, health care and veterans issues. In a jab at her opponent, she says she won't toe the party line in Washington.
"We need an independent leader who will always do what's right for Florida, not someone who will vote the party line every chance he gets," Castor told residents of a senior center in Casselberry near Orlando. "I'm not going to be a rubber stamp for anyone in Washington."
Martinez, a Republican and President Bush's former U.S. housing secretary, tells crowds he wants to be "the best senator Florida's ever had." He touts his White House ties and says his Washington experience would help Floridians get what they need, such as a long-awaited new veterans hospital in Central Florida.
"I know Secretary Principi," Martinez said, referring to the head of Veterans Affairs. "I've got a pretty good line to the White House, too, and I guarantee you, we're going to pester them," he told an American Legion women's auxiliary in Orlando Saturday.
Martinez, who flew on Air Force One Sunday and attended three rallies with Bush, has closely attached his political fortunes to the president who placed him on the national stage.
Castor sought votes at African-American churches in Daytona Beach Sunday morning and visited with voters at a library where several hundred people waited up to two hours to cast a ballot.
"You know as we approach the countdown to Tuesday and I reflect on where this country is, I know we are a divided country," Castor told the congregation at Greater Friendship Baptist Church. "We have got to work hard to heal that divide and to find a way to bring us together again."
Castor told reporters she will drop her attacks on Martinez in the final days of the campaign. "These are images people will have just before they go to vote and I want them to hear about positive things," she said. "Obviously this became a very negative campaign. That is not good. Everybody bemoans all the negativity but if you don't respond you can't just allow somebody else to go after you."
Martinez began Sunday at a Catholic Church in Coral Gables with the president and his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush. He then flew to Miami, Tampa and Gainesville for rallies designed to generate enthusiasm among Republican voters.
Martinez was met with a deafening roar as he spoke to a largely Hispanic crowd ahead of President Bush in Miami. He alternated between Spanish and English as he asked the crowd of 8,500 for support. "Vamos hacer historia - We're going to make history!" Martinez said.
Bush gave a boost to Martinez during his speech and complimented Martinez's wife, Kitty.
"It's really important when you get in that booth and your friends get in that booth to remember there's an important Senate race. I want to say it as strongly as I can, Mel Martinez is the right man," Bush said. "We love Kitty Martinez as well. She's a classy lady."
Martinez's candidacy makes no allowance for the possibility of John Kerry as president.
If that happens, Martinez says, he will prove that he can work with Democrats, as he did when he was the nonpartisan chairman of county government in Orlando. He praised Graham for attending a congressional luncheon for a newly elected President Bush in early 2001. "I thought that was a wonderful example that I would hope to emulate," Martinez said.
Lost in the noise of nasty 30-second ads is the fact that Castor and Martinez have track records as moderate, pragmatic politicians.
But Castor's record is longer, and Martinez has more conservative views on social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research.
If Martinez wins, he would become one of the nation's most prominent Hispanic political figures. As the first Cuban-American senator, he would be in demand by Republicans in areas with large Latino populations, such as New York, Texas and California.
No such stage awaits Castor, though she would be only the second woman to hold a Senate seat from Florida, after Republican Paula Hawkins in the 1980s.
Castor, a former teacher, state education commissioner and university president, said she would be in a unique position as a senator who has been "in the classroom." She wants to revise the No Child Left Behind Act, which created a national report card and imposes sanctions for poor-performing schools.
Castor, who has campaigned with Graham, describes herself as a moderate who can cross party lines. She cites her work with Republican Tom Gallagher to create the Healthy Kids insurance program more than a decade ago.
Parents of children in Healthy Kids and similar programs nationwide should be included, Castor says. Her proposal, the Family Care Act, is outlined in a bill by Sens. Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, and Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat.
"Here is legislation introduced by a bipartisan group," she said. "I would like to join that group."
Martinez wants to serve on the Foreign Relations Committee and its Western Hemisphere subcommittee, a forum for policy on Cuba, Haiti and Latin America. The Orlando lawyer also eyes a seat on the Judiciary Committee, which confirms federal judges.
Campaigning last week at Freedom Square, a retirement village in Seminole, Martinez promised to hire one staff member "with a sweet disposition" whose sole job will be to help older constituents on issues like Social Security, Medicare and prescription drugs.
Martinez, badly bruised from a primary battle, is eager to move past the campaign. In a private moment with reporters last week, he said it was inevitable that the campaign would go negative, but he took comfort in the words he got from Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia when they campaigned in Pinellas County last week.
"All this ends," Martinez said. "It's over and you move forward. I will look forward to that."
