LAT: GOP's Sure Bets in Florida Now Appear in Question
By Carol J. Williams, Times Staff Writer
October 14, 2006
....even here in Charlotte County on Florida's west coast, where voter turnout is regularly above 70% and heavily GOP, there are fears that the Foley scandal could discourage Republicans from going to the polls.
With President Bush's slumping approval ratings, dissatisfaction with the Iraq war and the failure of the Republican-dominated Congress to tackle issues like Social Security and immigration, GOP candidates in several once-certain Florida races now appear to be in trouble....
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Before Foley resigned, Republicans held 18 of Florida's 25 U.S. House seats. Political analysts believe five of those are within Democratic reach — potential pickups that could help break the Republicans' control of Congress.
"This is about a lot more than one errant person, and voters know that," Florida Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski said of the bounce in support for Democrats.
Just north of here, in the 13th District put into play by U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris when she decided to challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, Democrat Christine Jennings leads Republican Vern Buchanan by 12 percentage points, according to a recent poll, despite the wealthy Buchanan's $3 million contribution from his own pocket....
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-florida14oct14,0,6886278,full.story?coll=la-home-nation