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Supporters dispute reports Jennings out of race

Those close to Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings say she hasn't decided to stay out of the governor's race, no matter what a newspaper story says.

By JONI JAMES and ADAM C. SMITH
Published March 13, 2005

SEMINOLE - Three close allies of Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings', including Gov. Jeb Bush, disputed a published report Saturday that Jennings won't be a candidate for governor in 2006.

"It's not true," Bush said of a Palm Beach Post report that Jennings would announce this week that she won't run. "It's not true that she has decided not to run."

Two other supporters also took issue with the Post story, which cited two anonymous "Republicans who had received word of her decision" late Friday.

"She doesn't know who these Republican supporters are," said Edie Ousley, a former press secretary for Jennings who said she was authorized to speak on her behalf. Ousley said she had been in touch with Jennings both Friday and Saturday. "It's absolutely not true."

Also disputing the story was Tallahassee lobbyist Bill Pfeiffer, a friend of Jennings' who worked as a policy adviser when Jennings served as Senate president.

"She is in this race, and she intends to be in this race. If she was going to drop out, it wouldn't be now," Pfeiffer said. "Heck, we don't even know who is in there now."

Jennings could not be reached for comment.

No Republican has formally declared for governor, but Jennings, Attorney General Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher have been talking to fundraisers and campaign professionals to lay the groundwork.

Crist and Gallagher have been more aggressive in reaching out to fundraisers. Jennings and her supporters have periodically had to tamp down talk that she is lukewarm about running or might seek another seat in 2006.

A fresh cycle of those reports emerged Friday in Tallahassee about the same time news broke of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's indictment on charges that a member of his campaign staff tampered with absentee ballots. Bush suspended Dyer as required by law. Speculation arose that Bush might name Jennings, a native of Orlando, as Dyer's replacement.

But Bush's staff dismissed that idea, saying Orlando's charter calls for a special election with no role for the governor. By late Friday, however, speculation had grown that Jennings might seek the Orlando office. "The rumors are simply unfounded," Ousley said Friday.

Both Crist and Gallagher said Friday they had no knowledge of Jennings' plans.

Bush, who Saturday visited the Seminole neighborhood where Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is being filmed, said Jennings wants to concentrate on their agenda during the two-month legislative session. Bush said she will make up her mind about the race afterward.

Jennings, 55, is the first woman lieutenant governor in state history. The president of her family's Orlando construction firm, she served 24 years in the Legislature, including four years as Senate president.

When asked last month when she would make a formal decision about running she said simply: "At the right time."

Early polls suggest that Jennings has lower name recognition than her rivals. Crist and Gallagher have both run for statewide office before, and Jennings has not, having been appointed to her current position by Bush in 2003 to replace Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan.

Times staff writers Steve Bousquet and Lucy Morgan contributed to this report.

[Last modified March 13, 2005, 00:21:06]