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%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/2006/11/scandal_hits_home.html">Scandal hits home

• %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/">Andy Gallacher
• 8 Nov 06, 08:36 AM

The shadow of the %3Ca%20href="https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5400536.stm">Mark Foley affair may have been what threw the mid-terms to the Democrats here in Florida's 16th district but it was a close race none the less. The Republicans had only five weeks to prep their replacement %3Ca%20href="%3Ca%20href="https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4212">Joe Negron and he fought a fierce battle.

His name wasn't even on the ballot papers; Mark Foley's name remained in place because of election rules, and there were fears that that could confuse voters.

But in the end Democrat Tim Mahoney took a seat that had been a safe Republican bet for years. Former Congressman Foley resigned at the end of September over inappropriate e-mails he sent to Congressional pages and the Democratic party saw this as a real opportunity. Campaigning on the war in Iraq and the Foley scandal they turned voters minds to national issues and while many of the people I talked to voted on local issues, the war and Mark Foley were very much in their minds.

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%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/2006/11/recount_unlikely_1.html">Recount unlikely

• %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/">Andy Gallacher
• 3 Nov 06, 01:06 AM

%3Ca%20href="https://www.electharris.org/">Katherine Harris has battled on here in Florida despite her staffing problems and a considerable gap in the polls.

The woman best remembered for backing George Bush in the %3Ca%20href="https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1190222.stm">2000 Florida recount imbroglio has lost campaign staff in droves and initially didn't have the backing from state Republican leaders.

But the 49-year-old is hoping that her final debate with Democratic incumbent %3Ca%20href="https://www.nelsonforsenate.com/">Bill Nelson may have closed that chasm.

"I just hope that I reached out to the hearts and minds of people," she said after a debate that was dominated by Iraq.

It was a heated exchange, with both Ms Harris and Mr Nelson repeatedly interrupting each other. At times Mr Nelson wagged his finger at Ms Harris, shaking his head in frustration.

Katherine Harris wouldn't say whether she would have voted for the war in Iraq if she'd known there were no weapons of mass destruction, while Bill Nelson told the audience he would have voted against the war.

Ms Harris did call for a "new strategy" in Iraq, suggesting that the country be divided up into three regions for the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds. She also told voters that Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice-President Dick Cheney had performed "adequately" in their jobs.

According to the %3Ca%20href="https://electoral-vote.com/evp2006/Sen_graphs/florida.html">latest polls, Katherine Harris trails her opponent by more than 12 points. She may once have been the darling of the Republican Party for her role in the 2000 recount - but during this campaign she's been dogged by problems and abandoned by her own party.

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%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/2006/10/republicans_hard_words.html">Republican's hard words

• %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/">Andy Gallacher
• 17 Oct 06, 09:37 PM

By the time I've stopped several people in %3Ca%20href="https://www.cityofwpb.com/">West Palm Beach, Florida, I have learnt a couple of things about Mark Foley. Firstly, just about everyone likes him and secondly, he is gay. None of this stopped Mr Foley serving six terms in the House of Representatives, and why should it?

But e-mails to teenage boys are a different matter, as I found out when I visited the chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican party. Walking inside the opulent doors of Sid Dinerstein's house in West Palm Beach Gardens is like strolling on to the set of Dynasty or Dallas.

Mr Dinerstein describes himself as a close political friend of Mark Foley's. But even a few days after the scandal broke, he was in no doubt about where he stands on the ever-widening e-mail debacle: "Mark betrayed the trust of the voters and supporters in this district and represented a threat to children.

"That was the hardest part - getting over your personal knowledge, association and friendship with him and recognising the greater obligation to protect the community and not defend the indefensible and make sure he's out of Congress."

Tough words from Mr Dinerstein, but he is a hard man when it comes to politics. He is well aware that this could be an issue that may lose his party a lot of votes in a %3Ca%20href="https://clerk.house.gov/members/electionInfo/Florida_16th/index.html">seat that was considered safe, but he is willing to make the necessary sacrifices if needed.

"We actually trust the voters, and if they decide that we as a party haven't earned their trust enough to re-elect us then we'll work hard in the next two years and win back that seat. And if we lose the Congress, we'll win back the Congress."

Sid Dinerstein is the sort of man the %3Ca%20href="https://www.gop.com/">Republican party needs. He's a no-nonsense campaigner and true believer in conservative values. As I leave his excellent hospitality, he shakes my hand with the energy of a 20-year-old man, the kind of energy that he, and his fellow Republicans, may need in the coming weeks.

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%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/2006/10/harris_on_horseback.html">Harris on horseback

• %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/">Andy Gallacher
• 10 Oct 06, 07:33 PM

"I don't know about her politics, but she looks good on a horse." Not the kind of response you hope to get when covering the mid-terms, but that was the answer from one lady I stopped in the street in %3Ca%20href="https://www.sarasotagov.com/index2.html">Sarasota, Florida.

She was talking about %3Ca%20href="https://www.electharris.org/">Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate made famous when she was in charge of the Florida recount during the 2000 election.

To many Democrats she is the Devil incarnate, but at the time Republicans made her the darling of the GOP. Now as a Republican running for Senate - without the support or encouragement of either the president or the outgoing Florida Governor Jeb Bush - she seems to be out on her own. But that is not likely to discourage a woman like Katherine Harris.

Despite jokes about her make-up, tight sweaters and high staff turn-over she is pushing on. The Sunshine State is never a boring place when it comes to politics and it certainly seems that rings true for these mid-term elections.

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%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/2006/10/about_andy_gallacher.html">About Andy Gallacher

• %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/">Andy Gallacher
• 2 Oct 06, 10:30 AM

Over the last 10 years I've covered various world events for the ±«Óãtv, including the attacks of 11 September and the war in Iraq. Now, my focus is the southern states and the Caribbean. I travel around extensively, reporting on a wide range of issues for radio and TV.

I was born in London - though raised in the north of England - and have a degree in journalism from the University of Sheffield. I was a member of the armed forces before joining the ±«Óãtv.

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