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The Buzz: Florida politics

Another campaign, another Chad

By Times staff writers
Published June 19, 2005

Sen. Bill Nelson's camp says it won't make a giant issue over Katherine Harris' role in the 2000 election debacle. Still, as he prepares to face off in one of highest profile Senate races of 2006, it's fitting that Nelson will be hanging with a campaign manager named Chad.

Chad Clanton, a 33-year-old Texan and protege of James Carville, moves to Orlando next week to lead the Nelson re-election campaign. He joins a team that includes pollster Dave Beattie and media consultant Mike Donilon.

Clanton has had some indirect experience with Harris already: He camped out in Florida during the recount, speaking on behalf of Al Gore.

"Sen. Nelson's someone who represents mainstream values," Clanton said. "This is a long marathon, and there will be clear choice before voters."

Clanton had been a senior communications adviser in the Kerry-Edwards campaign. He recently left the struggling New York City mayoral campaign of Fernando Ferrer. Before working in the Kerry-Edwards war room, Clanton managed the unsuccessful Senate campaign of Alex Sanders in South Carolina. He also was the spokesman for Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, who is on the opposite side of Nelson on the issue of expanded drilling in the Gulf.

GALLAGHER GAINING? A June 9-13 poll released last week by the Republican consulting firm Strategic Vision showed Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher in a statistical dead heat with Attorney General Charlie Crist in a Republican gubernatorial primary. Crist had the support of 40 percent of Republicans while Gallagher had 38 percent. On the Democratic side, Jim Davis and Scott Maddox were statistically tied, with 23 percent and 20 percent support, respectively. Rod Smith followed with 14 percent.

The poll bolstered the conventional wisdom many Republicans have about the Senate race. In a hypothetical race, Crist and Gallagher were tied or narrowly ahead of Bill Nelson, while Katherine Harris trailed the incumbent Democrat, 42 percent to 48 percent.

While Republicans from the White House to the Governor's Mansion are still casting about for a Republican alternative to Harris, Sen. Mel Martinez said he'll stay out of that thicket.

"I think Katherine Harris is a fine member of Congress, and I know Allan Bense has been talking about a run, but I had a tough race last year, and I'm going to leave that discussion to others at this point."

TALK ABOUT SPIN: "Jim Davis Impresses at 2005 Jefferson-Jackson" declared the headline last week on a campaign e-mail from Jim Davis' gubernatorial campaign.

Huh?

Many of those who attended the annual party fundraiser in Broward County last weekend are still talking about the embarrassing scene of event organizers cranking music to drown out Davis and cutting off his microphone while he tried to keep talking.

It seems all three candidates - Davis, Rod Smith and Scott Maddox - agreed to speak no longer than 15 minutes. Davis was introduced by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose lengthy introduction cut into Davis' alloted time and helped him run afoul of the rules.

Whether the spectacle was more embarrassing for Davis or the party is being debated. By some accounts, it helped Davis by overshadowing the fact that he's not as strong a speaker as rivals Maddox and Smith.

PUBLIC BROADCASTING'S DARLING: The former staffer for Sen. Mel Martinez who wrote the controversial memo lauding the political advantages of intervening in the Terri Schiavo case is back in the news. This time it's for something he did before working for Martinez.

The New York Times reported that investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are looking into $15,000 paid to Brian Darling and another Republican lobbyist last year - payments that were not disclosed to the corporation's board.

The taxpayer-financed corporation is supposed to be a buffer between public broadcasters and politicians, and it says federal law prohibits it from hiring lobbyists to approach lawmakers.

But the New York Times reported that Darling was paid $10,000 for his insights into Sen. Conrad Burns, a Montana Republican who sponsored a bill about the corporation last year.

Adam C. Smith, Anita Kumar and Leanora LaPeter contributed to this week's Buzz.

[Last modified June 19, 2005, 00:38:17]