State: Dole aids McCollum in appeal to women

Dole aids McCollum in appeal to women

For Elizabeth Dole, "women's issues'' are the same ones on the minds of all voters.

By ADAM C. SMITH

TAMPA -- Elizabeth Dole flew into Tampa Tuesday to stump for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bill McCollum and help him appeal to more women.

"Those who know you best, admire you most," Dole told McCollum before a mostly female crowd of nearly 40 McCollum supporters at Tampa International Airport Marriott Hotel. "Bill is a man of his word, his word is his bond, he is honest, he has integrity, he has strong character. So I want you to help get the message out and get the vote out."

McCollum's Senate bid has been especially weak among Florida women, with polls consistently showing women of all party affiliations overwhelmingly favoring Democrat Bill Nelson, the current state insurance commissioner, to succeed Connie Mack in the Senate. McCollum lately has been trying to close that gender gap with appeals to women.

He began Tuesday with a women's rally in Jacksonville, then flew to West Palm Beach, where a communications foul-up created an event that drew only a few supporters.

In Tampa, he and Dole and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris suggested that the most important "women's issues" are the same issues on the minds of all voters. McCollum said gender disparities have largely disappeared in America, and that today women are helping drive the economy.

"When I tell people that the National Federation of Independent Businesses endorsed me because I have a great record on businesses and business concerns, I'm talking to women," McCollum said. "When I talk about the fact that the United States Chamber of Commerce has endorsed me over my opponent, I'm talking to women, because women are the business machine producing the jobs in our country today."

Dan McLaughlin, spokesman for the Nelson campaign, said McCollum's sudden focus on women is testament to his "fundamentally dishonest" campaign.

"He is campaigning on issues and to demographic groups that he's voted against for the past 20 years," McLaughlin said, noting the current U.S. representative's consistent support for restricting abortions, his opposition to gun control measures, his opposition to the Family and Medical Leave Act and various other issues.

Dole, a former presidential candidate, American Red Cross director and secretary of transportation, flew on to Miami Tuesday night for a McCollum fundraiser. She is only the latest heavy hitter to weigh in on Florida's Senate race.

In Orlando Tuesday, Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, former head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, campaigned with Nelson, who is seeking to counter McCollum's aggressive appeals to veterans. Another prominent Vietnam veteran, U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, is scheduled to stump for Nelson on Thursday, when Nelson is also supposed to receive the endorsement of the Sierra Club.