The American Spectator

p> FLORIDA REPEAT br> Former Sen. Connie Mack , one of the figures responsible for the GOP losing the control of the Senate in 2001, has signed on as an honorary chairman of former Rep. Bill McCollum ‘s Senate campaign. McCollum has indicated he will challenge either Sen. Bob Graham or the Democrat who fills that slot should Graham choose to run for president instead of seeking re-election in 2004. /p>

Back in 2000 Democrats were not going to put up a serious challenger against Mack. But then he announced his retirement, months before the end of the Senate session. Worse, he refused to resign early, meaning Republican Gov. Jeb Bush could not appoint a Republican replacement, who would have had an advantage in the 2000 election.

As a result of Mack’s failure to put the party first — and Republican Senate leader Trent Lott’s lack of leadership in declining to pressure Mack to step aside early — Democrats easily defeated McCollum, who ran a lackluster campaign.

“McCollum is lining up people, even though we’re not encouraging it,” said a Florida GOP staffer. “We’re waiting on Washington to sort through some other candidates before we start lining up our support. Frankly, I think we’d be better off if McCollum didn’t run, given his past performance.”

Mack, who has remained out of the limelight since his retirement, is expected to help McCollum with his fundraising in-state. Rep. Mark Foley, a rising star in the House GOP, has already begun laying out his desires and plans for a Senate run, focusing much of his early energy on Washington-based fundraising along the K Street lobbying corridor.

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