Election 2004

Snow's showing leads Libertarians

No Libertarian candidate did better in the state than Kim Snow of Carrollwood, who received an unheard of 31 percent of the vote against a Republican incumbent.

By JOSH ZIMMER
Published November 4, 2004

TAMPA - Florida Libertarians, those no-tax, stay-out-of-my-bedroom types, managed some respectable third-party performances in Tuesday's general election.

Sure, several of its candidates crossed the finish line with percentages of 2, 3 and 5 percent. But others polled over 20 percent, numbers rarely seen by any party challenging the Republican and Democratic political duopoly. In one South Florida race Libertarian Frank Gonzalez managed to garner 27.6 percent of the vote for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Number-wise, though, no Libertarian did better in Florida state House or congressional elections than Kim Snow, a software consulting company executive from Carrollwood.

Taking on Republican incumbent Kevin Ambler, she got 31 percent of the vote in a low-budget campaign for his northwest Hillsborough County seat in the state House of Representatives.

That pleased Florida Libertarian Party administrator Ralph Swanson, whose definition of political success is broader that many organizers.

"We here in the party have a rule of thumb: If we can get 30 percent, people will respect us," he said. "Kim Snow did a good job."

One couldn't find Snow gushing about the results Wednesday. Although she viewed her tally as a step forward for state Libertarians, she expected to do better against Ambler, an independent-minded conservative who barely survived a bruising primary fight with fellow Republican Bill Bunkley, a Christian conservative.

"I would have liked to have broken 40 (percent), rather than 30 (percent)," the mother of three said. "Given, I raised $6,000 . . . not bad."

She said she "probably" will run for office again, though maybe not for the state House. "I keep telling people it's like childbirth," she said. It's painful while it's happening, but afterward, "you're willing to do it again."

Question is, did her relative success owe more to Ambler's vulnerability than her own candidacy as a Libertarian?

Ambler infuriated many die-hard Republicans during the primary. Special interest groups on both sides launched a flurry of negative campaign ads that led to accusations of hitting below the belt. Ambler, who never denounced the ads, barely survived. His winning margin was the smallest of any incumbent house Republican with an opponent.

Bunkley didn't support Ambler in the general election. Others, such as former state Sen. John Grant, hinted that Republicans would defect to Snow.

In some cases, at least, that turned out to be true.

Barbara Wilcox said she voted for Snow as "payback" for Ambler's conduct during the campaign. On election night, she said she spoke with a handful of other Republicans who also cast ballots for Snow.

Some, like Bunkley, expressed their anger by skipping over the House 47 race.

"There are people who voted for Kim Snow in the race," he said. "There are people who didn't vote at all."

To Ambler, what matters is that 69 percent of voters sent him back to the House.

"It shows I earned the respect of Democrats and Republicans," he said.

Snow also appeared to benefit from the inability of Democrats to field a candidate. Across Florida, Libertarians did much better in races where they were the only alternative.

In three-way races, the only Libertarian to poll above 5.1 percent was U.S. House candidate Robert Johnson. Facing incumbent Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa, he drew 14 percent.

"I don't notice much, really," from the Libertarians, political analyst Susan MacManus said.

But when you're a Libertarian, you look for the silver lining.

With more money, Snow is confident she could have been even more competitive. Unlike Ambler, who had an army of volunteers, a mountain of brochures and a $200,000 war chest, Snow had just enough money for 1,500 fliers and some 60-second radio ads at the end of the campaign.

By taking 31 percent of the vote, Snow may have crossed the threshold to credibility, said Libertarian Charlie Westlake. That could help her raise money if she runs again, he said.

"It's very encouraging," said Westlake, who was creamed when he ran against Davis two years ago. "In the real world . . . you can't really attract money and support unless they believe you're a viable candidate."

Josh Zimmer can be reached at 813 269-5314 or zimmer@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 4, 2004, 00:40:23]