Notes For Wednesday, May 07, 2003

Scramble Starts For Graham's U.S. Senate Seat - But here's the rub, if Graham's presidential bid "wilts, many expect he will seek the comfort of another Senate term." That would make it messy for the "list of starry-eyed [Dem] contenders [which] already includes U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch of Hollywood, U.S. Rep. Mark Foley of West Palm Beach and Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas. In turn, their campaigns are setting off scrambles for seats from Washington to Weston." See "Scramble starts for Senate seat -`It's a very dynamic time'".

Special Session Will Begin May 12 - "State lawmakers will return to the state capital Monday for a 16-day special session to again try to craft a $52 billion state budget and find ways to pay for it." Associated Press.

Killing Bills - "Lawmakers feel the thrill of the killed bill"

You Reckon Chain Gang Charlie Is Grandstanding? See "Strike political colors".

Jax Race - Race and the Jax mayoral contest, and a nasty debate.

SPT Editorial: No Recent Presidential Candidate From Either Party Can Match Graham - "None of the other Democrats in the race - in fact, no recent presidential candidate from either major party - can match Graham's combination of executive-branch experience and national security expertise. With the country caught in an open-ended war against terror and facing mounting economic and social crises at home, voters won't be in the mood for a fresh face and untested character in 2004. The times demand an intelligent, pragmatic grown-up such as Graham." See "A grown-up Democrat".

Graham Trails Bush - "Bush holds a 15 percentage-point advantage over Graham at this stage in his home state, according to a new statewide survey released Tuesday." See "President Graham: What are the chances?". 4:39 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]