Brogan to skip GOP race for Senate

Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan ends months of speculation by saying he loves his job - and his boss - and will not seek the vacancy left by Sen. Connie Mack.

By JULIE HAUSERMAN and TIM NICKENS

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 3, 1999

TALLAHASSEE -- Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan put an end to one of Florida's biggest political cliffhangers Thursday, announcing he won't run for the U.S. Senate next year.

"I simply love my job," Brogan said at a packed news conference. "The thought of being one of 100 U.S. senators was very, very attractive" but outweighed by "my love for and my respect for my governor."

Gov. Jeb Bush, who has developed a close working and personal relationship with Brogan since tapping him as his running mate last summer, was relieved.

"This was his decision," Bush said. "I consider him a brother."

Brogan's announcement left Republicans with two candidates for one of the country's most closely watched Senate races: U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum of Altamonte Springs and state Education Commissioner Tom Gallagher.

In November 2000, one of them will likely face Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson, the only mainstream Democrat seeking the open Senate seat created by Republican Connie Mack's retirement. Brogan did not endorse either Republican candidate Thursday.

Speculation about Brogan's future resumed after his wife, Mary, died of cancer at the end of June. He thanked supporters Thursday for giving him room to make his decision.

"I really came to peace with the decision over the last week," the 45-year-old former educator said.

Brogan's re-examination of the Senate race had frozen some prominent GOP fundraisers and politicians in place. His telegenic looks, glib nature and ready access to Bush's fundraising network would have made him a formidable candidate.

"I would have campaigned for him," the governor said. "In fact, I told the other candidates who were a little concerned about that. I would've been completely supportive, openly and publicly."

Instead, the maneuvering by the McCollum and Gallagher camps started in earnest after Brogan's announcement.

In Jacksonville on Thursday, McCollum picked up an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Tillie Fowler, who once was considered a possible candidate. McCollum aides said the endorsement was planned before Brogan made his decision.

Gallagher, meanwhile, has been slow to start his campaign amid speculation that he would have gotten out of the race if Brogan had jumped in. He has formed an exploratory committee but won't say how much he has raised or how many campaign staffers he has hired.

There are indications, though, that Gallagher is stepping up his efforts. He has at least two speeches scheduled in the Tampa Bay area in the next three weeks, and friends say he has more fund-raisers scheduled. Jacksonville GOP fundraiser and Bush ally Tom Petway is organizing a fundraiser for Gallagher there.

"Gallagher's got to fish or cut bait pretty quick," said former Republican Party Chairman Tom Slade.

In Fort Lauderdale, prominent GOP fundraiser Zachariah P. Zachariah said he has signed on to Gallagher's team. He said he has talked with both McCollum and Gallagher but was waiting to see what Brogan would do before making a commitment.

"He has statewide name recognition, and he has done a good job as education commissioner," said Zachariah, a cardiologist.

Gallagher, 55, has run five statewide races, including two unsuccessful bids for governor, and has won three.

But McCollum, also 55, has built the most early momentum.

The conservative congressman, who is in his first statewide race, built a campaign account of nearly $1.4-million by the end of June. Members of his finance committee include Betty Sembler, the wife of St. Petersburg-area developer and Republican National Finance Chairman Mel Sembler, and Jeannie Austin of Orlando, the former state GOP chairwoman and national GOP co-chair.

Just this week, McCollum picked up endorsements from both Fowler and U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Miami. He downplayed the impact of Brogan's decision on his own campaign.

"I've never looked at the competition in terms of the potential," McCollum said Thursday. "I've just been running my race, and I'm doing very very well."

Other Republicans who have been mentioned as possibilities, including Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney, are skipping the race.

"It was less a flirtation than a glance," said Delaney, who is just beginning another four-year term as mayor.

While there was considerable enthusiasm among some fundraisers and Republican lawmakers for Brogan, state Republican Party Chairman Al Cardenas said he advised Brogan to think of himself first.

Cardenas did not want more than two candidates vying for the Republican nomination because he did not want to risk triggering a runoff. That would have happened if no one won more than half the total vote in the primary.

"He's made our lives easier by leaving only two," he said. "We certainly will do what we can to dissuade anyone else from running."

Florida Democratic Party Chairman Charles Whitehead was relieved to learn Brogan will not jump into the Senate race.

"I think Brogan was their strongest guy," he said.

Whitehead said he is hoping that the Republican nominee is McCollum. The Orlando congressman, a leading figure in the impeachment of President Clinton, is more conservative than Gallagher and his views are expected to contrast sharply with Democrat Nelson's.

"I think there are a lot of Democrats out there who would enjoy that race," Whitehead said.

While Brogan held his standing-room-only news conference at the Capitol, Nelson was making a campaign stop in Broward County.

He also has picked up an early endorsement from the AFL-CIO union.

"Frank would have been a formidable candidate," Nelson said. "I like him and I think he's a fine public servant."

Nelson said he plans to focus on "securing" Social Security, reforming Medicare, developing "a real patient's bill of rights" and the environment and education.

"Those are defining issues," Nelson said. "There will be a clear contrast between me and the Republican opponents."

With Brogan's decision, there is just one wild card still left: state Rep. Willie Logan of Opa-locka, the black lawmaker who is exploring a run for the Senate without a party affiliation.

Logan announced Thursday in Miami that he has signed North Woods Advertising of Minneapolis -- the same consulting firm behind Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's upset win last year.

-- Staff writers Bill Adair and Mary Jacoby contributed to this report.

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