Report: Republicans courting Scarborough for Senate
By Associated Press
Published August 17, 2005
PENSACOLA- Two businessmen active in Republican Party politics say the GOP is courting cable TV host Joe Scarborough to replace Rep. Katherine Harris in the 2006 Senate race against incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson.
Scarborough, a former U.S. representative, has met with senior Republican officials, Collier Merrill, a Pensacola businessman, told the Pensacola News Journal in a report for Wednesday editions.
Republican Eric Nickelsen, a partner in the firm of John S. Carr Co., said he had contacted Scarborough and encouraged him to run, and he corroborated that other party leaders wanted the cable talk show host to challenge Harris.
Scarborough declined to comment late Tuesday. He was sent to Congress four times from the Pensacola area, beginning in 1994. He resigned in 2001 to spend more time at home.
Some polls have shown Harris of Sarasota lagging behind Melbourne Democrat Nelson. But Harris's campaign manager, Jim Dornan, said Harris has no plans to step out of the race.
