Connie Mack's monkeys flop and Jeff Atwater stirs Florida's senate race
04/17/2012
On the phone, a Florida Republican strategist can hardly hide his dismay at the Florida Republican race for U.S. Senate.
"A lot of people are turned off by Mack. And LeMieux hasn't done anything to stand out."
Mack would be Connie. LeMieux would be George. Neither has made much of an impression on Republican voters - at least those who are paying attention.
So now, a few frustrated folks are pushing the idea that Florida CFO Jeff Atwater should get into the race. Atwater is thinking about it.
Which begs the question - would Atwater be an improvement?
In short, yes.
Atwater's statewide name recognition is probably a tad better than Mack and LeMieux. And, perhaps most importantly, Atwater should be able to raise the money he needs to win.
He is a pragmatic Republican who had a successful turn as Florida Senate president. He easily won election as CFO in 2010. One former employee in that office suggests that Atwater has not always been enthralled with being CFO. And there are some stories that Atwater can be difficult and demanding - that he worries too much about not getting the public credit he feels he deserves.
Those are not unusual traits for politicians.
What makes Atwater attractive to some Republicans is the fact that he is not Mack or LeMieux. The Tampa Bay Times has a story about Mack suggesting deep dissatisfaction with the GOP field in general and Mack in particular.
So should Atwater ride to the rescue?
Probably not.
The fact is that Atwater would still have to win a divisive primary battle. It is not likely that Mack or LeMieux would step aside for Atwater.
And then there is the Democratic incumbent, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who has more than $9.5 million (and counting) to spend on the general election campaign.
The GOP nominee will be broke, having spent every dime just to win the nomination.
Just a few months ago, Mack, a Fort Myers area congressman, was in the role of GOP party savior. The thinking then was that he would quickly squeeze out his Republican rivals and lock-up the nomination.
Mack did push out Adam Hasner, who is now running for a Broward-Palm Beach congressional seat, but LeMieux, the former intermin U.S. senator appointed by former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, is not budging.
So far, both men have raised about the same amount of money - although Mack did it in a far shorter period of time. And, as the Times notes, LeMieux appears more popular with Tea Party voters.
And, as Crowley Political Report noted in an earlier post, Mack's first ad - a Nelson attack featuring a series of monkeys - is a very strange way to introduce a virtually unknown candidate to the voters of Florida.
So far, Mack's campaign has been monkeying around and the result is a possible opening for Jeff Atwater.
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Art by artist Patrick Crowley
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