U.S. Rep. Connie Mack officially entered the U.S. Senate race this week -- and drew heavy fire from Republican rivals as well as from liberal activists. In a move that had been widely expected for weeks, Mack announced that he was entering the crowded Republican primary field looking to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012.
MoveOn.org targeted Mack this week, holding one of their 99 percent Congressional Speak-Out events at the congressmans office in Cape Coral on Thursday.
The Mack camp fired back, insisting that George Soros and MoveOn.org are circling their wagons to protect their fellow lockstep liberal Bill Nelson.
Its appalling that George Soros and the loony liberals of MoveOn.org are protecting Bill Nelson by staging a sit-in protest at Congressman Macks office, said David James, Macks deputy campaign manager. Three days after Connie Mack entered the race for U.S. Senate, these leftists are scared of the Mack candidacy and Connies message of freedom, security and prosperity. Florida has had enough of the loony left and will bring an end to their big government, big taxation and big spending agenda next November.
The Florida Democratic Party took aim at Mack on Tuesday.
The already packed race for U.S. Senate in Florida became more crowded with the entrance of Congressman Connie Mack IV who officially threw his family name into the ring, said ScottArceneaux, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party. Mack is well-versed in throwing his name around, relying more on his familys history than his lackluster record in Tallahassee and Washington or his vast professional experience planning parties for Hooters.
Mack and the GOP field continue their race to the right, appealing to the partys far-right fringe and distancing themselves from the very independent-minded voters of Florida that decide elections, added Arceneaux. The bottom line: Mack brings more of the same tea party ideology weve seen from a field of contenders who have failed to gain traction against the independent leadership of U.S. Senator Bill Nelson. As Nelson remains strong and focused on the general election, Mack will no doubt take heat from all sides in what is sure to be a bruising primary.
Mack also drew heavy fire from his primary rivals this week as they look to reverse his large leads in the polls.
Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux took aim at Mack on Wednesday, slamming the new candidate on spending in a statement.
Congressman Connie Mack is not protecting America when hes winning for Florida. The road to a $15 trillion national debt is paved with congressmen bringing home pork-barrel pet projects instead of focusing on Americas economic future," said LeMieux. When I served in the U.S. Senate, I voted against increasing the debt ceiling, never requested a wasteful earmark, and supported permanently banning earmarks altogether. During his time in the House, Congressman Mack voted to increase the debt ceiling, requested earmarks, supported the bridge to nowhere, and specifically rejected efforts to eliminate wasteful spending like an aquarium in Connecticut and tourism funding in Kentucky. The citizens of Florida need a senator who has a plan to get America back on track, not a career politician who continues to pile debt onto future generations.
The team behind another Republican hopeful -- former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner -- also took aim at Mack, hammering him on a number of fronts from immigration to spending. Mack is a vocal opponent of bringing an Arizona-style immigration law to the Sunshine State.
A poll released this week from Public Policy Polling, a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, found Mack holding a sizable lead over the rest of the Republican primary field. Mack took 40 percent of those surveyed followed by LeMieux in second with 12 percent, retired Army colonel and businessman Mike McCalister with 4 percent, and Hasner and restaurant executive Craig Miller lagging behind with 3 percent apiece.
Mack -- whose father held the Senate seat for two terms and whose great-grandfather was a baseball icon -- commanded 57 percent name recognition, far ahead of LeMieux with 29 percent, Hasner with 18 percent, and McCalister and Miller with 17 percent each.
The poll, released late Wednesday, notes that Mack has a huge advantage of name recognition. He is the son of Connie Mack III, who was Floridas U.S. senator for 12 years, until 2001. And he is the great-grandson of the Baseball Hall of Fame team owner and manager Connie Mack.
The Hasner camp took exception to the notion that Mack was the only candidate who could defeat Nelson and insisted that Florida Republicans were looking for someone more conservative to challenge the Democratic incumbent.
"Voters aren't looking for another career politician who follows polls and is running for higher office just because he can win, or because it is easy, said Doug Mayer, a spokesman for Hasner. They are looking for the candidates who can be trusted to do the hard things, take the tough votes, and stand up to the Washington insiders who are bankrupting our country. In this race, only Adam Hasner has proven that he will consistently support limited-government principles and fight against Democrats and the Republicans who act like them."
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
