The American Spectator

Janet Reno has finished driving around Florida in her “little red truck tour,” and Democrats who hoped she might get lost now fear she has locked up their party’s nomination to face off against Republican incumbent Gov. Jeb Bush . And it isn’t just Reno who scares them. It’s her polling numbers. According to internal Florida Democratic Party polling, Reno has a sizable lead over her Democratic competition, Tampa Bay attorney Bill McBride , state Sen. Daryl Jones and state Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida recount fame. /p>

“We’re stuck with her,” says a state Democratic Party official of Reno. “She has a better than 50 percent backing inside the party and guys like McBride are far behind by 25 or 30 points.” But when Reno faces off against Bush she’s buried. “We’re talking landslide losses in our numbers,” says the party official. “Real bad. We show her losing 65 percent to 35 percent; numbers like that. That gap can certainly narrow, but with a candidate with her kind of name recognition, it isn’t looking good.”

The primary race might not be over just yet. While McBride isn’t a household name, he apparently has the support of former President Bill Clinton and some FOBs in Washington. It’s expected that the Florida state AFL-CIO will soon endorse McBride on the recommendation of national AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington. “We’re hearing that Clinton and [Democratic National Committee Chairman] Terry McAuliffe aren’t backing Reno but won’t do it publicly,” says the state party official. “But they’re steering support to McBride, though, through political friends and supporters. How else to you explain the biggest union backing an also-ran?”

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