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Harris plans tour to stress issues

TAMPA - Rep. Katherine Harris says she will tour the state for five days next week while Congress is in recess in an effort to refocus her Senate campaign on issues.

The tour will begin in a rural area between Tampa and Tallahassee and cover mainly north and central Florida. Harris, a Republican, is trying to unseat Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.

"You're going to see a different energy and vision," Harris said Tuesday during a lunch meeting with her campaign staff.

The message, Harris said, will largely be one she has brought to previous campaign stops: discussions of issues and the differences between her and Nelson. She said she will also be rolling out new ideas.

"Like every campaign, so much evolves," she said. "As you spend more time with Floridians and you listen to their dreams and their concerns, which I talk about every single stop, it gives you ideas everywhere you go."

News coverage of Harris' Senate bid over the past two months has been mostly about turnover among her core staff and how Harris plans to pay for the campaign. After fundraising dragged and advisers urged her to get out of the race, she pledged to spend $10-million of her own money on the campaign.

Harris said Tuesday she was frustrated that coverage hasn't been more about issues.

"I'm out there, and I'm talking about the issues all day, and I'm talking about the differences between Nelson and me and our voting records," Harris said. "That's what Floridians are really going to care about, how they're being represented in D.C. I've been doing that all along and it hasn't been printed."

[Last modified April 12, 2006, 01:06:10]