With their partys presidential primary in the rear view mirror, Florida Republicans are increasingly turning their attention to the contest to see who will challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November.
Later this month, the three leading Republican hopefuls in the race will be squaring off in a debate in Tallahassee on Feb. 19. On Thursday, the Florida Federation of Republican Women will host the three Republican candidates -- former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack and businessman and retired Army Col. Mike McCalister -- at the Hotel Duval in Tallahassee.
Cindy Graves, the president of the FFRW, said the Senate debate will not be like the clashes between the Republican presidential hopefuls.
While some voters may have enjoyed the combative nature and the sound bites of the recent presidential debates, our leaders often find the format to be a distraction from the issues, insisted Graves on Thursday.
The debate will be more of a forum, with the three candidates taking questions from the audience and offering closing statements.
In the meantime, LeMieux announced on Thursday that five state House members are backing his bid for the Republican nomination to challenge Nelson. The five representatives are Chris Dorworth of Heathrow, Bill Hager of Boca Raton, Scott Plakon of Longwood, Ray Pilon of Sarasota and Ritch Workman of Melbourne. This brings LeMieuxs total number of endorsements from legislators up to 21.
Our campaign continues to gain tremendous support from across the state, said LeMieux. It is an honor to receive endorsements from strong legislators. These representatives know the hurdles everyday Floridians face and I am humbled they put their trust in me to get America back on track.
Dorworth and Hager praised LeMieuxs record in the private sector and in the Senate while Plakon focused on the former senators record on fiscal matters.
George understands our skyrocketing debt must be controlled and he made reducing the debt his top priority, Plakon said. "In the Senate, he introduced legislation that would revert spending to 2007 levels and proposed a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. George knows what our country needs to do to get back on track and he isnt afraid to stand up for what he believes in."
Pilon and Workman stressed their belief that LeMieux has the best chance to defeat Nelson -- with Workman taking the gloves off to rip into the Democrat incumbent.
George LeMieux is the only candidate for U.S. Senate who can expose Bill Nelson's record as a liberal, do-nothing senator who has done nothing to protect our interests on the Space Coast, said Workman before hammering Nelson, who famously was on a space shuttle flight.
I was appalled when Bill Nelson, who claims to be an astronaut stood silently while the Obama administration dismantled our space program, leaving tens of thousands of Floridians out of work, and the future of space exploration was put into the hands of the Russians and the Chinese. George has already proven he will fight against Washington and for Florida's best interest. Our families have suffered for far too long under the liberal policies of Bill Nelson, which is why I am endorsing George LeMieux for U.S. Senate.
Mack could also be unveiling some major endorsements soon.
On Thursday, the Mack campaign announced that their candidate would be at a media event in Miami on Monday with three of his congressional colleagues from the region -- Mario Diaz-Balart, David Rivera and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen -- and former U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart. Ros-Lehtinen, the chairwoman of the U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee, works very closely with Mack, who is chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
