After five of Republicans’ top-choice candidates for Senate passed on the Florida Senate race, the GOP was left with a crowded, messy primary field that is sure to damage any chance they had at holding onto the seat. It didn’t take long for the four-way race to get nasty, and it might just get even more crowded as several Republicans in Florida are still considering whether to throw their hats in the ring.
After Democratic candidate Patrick Murphy posted a strong third quarter in which he outraised every single person in the field, perennial candidate Bill McCollum, who is still weighing whether he will enter the race, went on the record about how unimpressed he was by the Republican candidates’ lackluster fundraising numbers. In a story headlined “Potential Candidate Bill McCollum Not Impressed By GOP Senate Fundraising” the Palm Beach Post reports:
Asked about fundraising by Republican Senate candidates, McCollum said: “I don’t think anybody has an overwhelming amount of support demonstrated by those reports…It’s going to be a fairly expensive race.”
“Florida is a must-win seat for the Republicans, but they’ve failed to recruit a candidate who can impress, and while more candidates eye the race and lament the weak primary field, the GOP’s chances of retaining the Florida Senate seat look slimmer by the day,” said Sadie Weiner, DSCC Communications Director. “The infighting in the crowded Republican primary is already well underway and promises to get even nastier.”
