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Politics

Berfield earns win over Farkas

By CURTIS KRUEGER
Published September 6, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Kim Berfield defeated Frank Farkas for the Republican nomination to a Pinellas-Hillsborough state Senate seat in a hard-fought campaign marked by sharp and personal attacks.

"I think it is overwhelming and incredibly humbling to have such a strong outpouring," Berfield said.

She won, she said, because "we stayed as focused as we possibly could on the issues that were resonating with the voters," such as the need to find solutions to rising homeowners' insurance costs.

Farkas, still waiting for final election results at about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, said: "If this trend continues, I'm certainly going to give a her a call and congratulate her."

Berfield survived Farkas' stinging accusations that she was beholden to the medical and insurance interest groups that helped finance her campaign. Now, she faces Democratic state Rep. Charlie Justice in the general election for state Senate District 16 seat, which observers say is most competitive state Senate race in Florida.

Justice said running against Berfield will not be much different than running against Farkas.

"While they may have some different personalities, their voting records are almost identical ... and it has not been good for the people of Tampa Bay or Florida," Justice said.

Berfield raised more than $464,000 and Farkas raised more than $370,000. They used much of the money to hammer each other with advertising and mailings that went to thousands of voters in the district, which includes portions of eastern Pinellas and western Hillsborough counties.

The sharpest barbs between the fellow legislators came toward the end. Farkas sent out mailings claiming Berfield was "active with the church of Scientology."

"I can honestly say that I never in a million years would have imagined that my faith in God was questioned to the degree that it was," said Berfield, a Baptist. She said she also was disappointed Farkas made an issue of her being single and not having children.

The stakes are high as the candidates now move toward the general election. In a district where 39.6 percent of the registered voters are Republicans and 36.4 percent are Democrats, both parties believe they have a strong shot of winning the seat. They are expected to pour hundreds of thousands more dollars into the race, so the rapid-fire barrage of television ads, mailings and automated phone messages will likely continue until the Nov. 7 election.

The statewide interest in the race became evident in recent weeks when the Florida Republican Party began running television ads slamming Justice, even though his name did not appear on Tuesday's ballot. The Democratic Party responded with ads slamming Berfield, which some interpreted as meaning Democrats thought Farkas would be easier to defeat.

Groups backing Berfield blasted Farkas with mailings that called Farkas "a lap dog" because he accepted a trip to Canada paid by a gambling company, among other things.

[Last modified September 6, 2006, 01:46:24]