On Monday, Jeff Atwater, Florida’s chief financial officer, announced he is considering jumping into the GOP Senate primary. The announcement is the latest sign that the frontrunner in the primary race, Rep. Connie Mack, is running an underwhelming campaign, reports the Tampa Bay Times.
The Times called “more than 80 seasoned Florida political professionals and activists” and reported that more than half said it was not too late for a new candidate to enter the race and run a credible campaign.
Republicans had high hopes for Mack, whose father was a popular senator and whose wife is also a congresswoman. But Mack, who should be able to tap into a big fundraiser base, has little more than $1 million in the bank compared with $9.5 million for incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson.
The Mack campaign says that the Times’ report is overwrought and is creating concern where there is none:
Connie Mack has sent Bill Nelson and his liberal allies, including those in the press, into panic mode and it won’t work. Republicans know that conservative Connie Mack will defeat liberal Bill Nelson and Mitt Romney will defeat Nelson’s chief ally Barack Obama, regardless of what the left-wing media wants.
