... Enduring jabs from Gov. Jeb Bush, rejection by the Republican Party, the defection of her entire campaign staff, the cloud of campaign contributions from a questionable donor and weekly jabs from "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris has struggled against becoming a political punchline ...
Polls show that Harris can count on only the 30 to 35 percent of the vote from the staunchest Republicans who never abandon their party, said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research ...
Harris became the darling of the Republican Party in 2000, when she certified the contested Florida vote, giving George Bush the state's 25 electoral votes and the presidency. At the time, she was co-chairwoman of Bush's Florida election campaign and secretary of state ...
.. Harris' standing has been more deeply dinged by news that she received $32,000 from the same donor who bribed U.S. Rep. Randy Cunningham, who was sentenced to jail. After the contribution became public, she gave the money to charity ...
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060409/NEWS01/604090351/1006