June 13, 2011
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Most of the coverage of the Florida U.S. Senate race thus far has centered around the trio of Mike Haridopolos, George LeMieux and Adam Hasner.
But there's a fourth candidate already in the race who will seek to change that this week.
Mike McCalister, a retired colonel and former gubernatorial candidate who took 10 percent in the 2010 GOP primary, will attempt to amp up his viability and test-drive a fresh line of attack on his three rivals by labeling them "The Tallahassee Triplets."
"Colonel McCalister is a conservative outsider with strong tea party support who matches up well against the Tallahassee triplets of political insiders who have been part of Florida's recent economic problems," said John Yob, who just recently signed onto McCalister's team as a top adviser.
Yob, who served as a senior adviser to Sharron Angle and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in 2010, is part of McCalister's new team.
Buzz Jacobs, who was Sen. John McCain's South Carolina state director, is also on board and McCalister has signed Base Connect to do his direct mail and fundraising.
"We are implementing online fundraising and GOTV efforts very similar to what we implemented on tea party campaigns across the country," Yob told POLITICO.
The campaign is preparing a memo to release this week that argues why McCalister should not be discounted in a race that has no clear frontrunner. He also plans to make a splash during his speech at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans Saturday, in what his team is dubbing "his national debut."
"When conservatives compare the experiences and qualifications of the candidates, we are confident that they will side with the Colonel over the Tallahassee Triplets," said Yob. "Colonel McCalister will utilize a professional team and the same fundraising systems that Allen West, Sharron Angle and others utilized to become the surprise tea party candidate of this cycle."
Another potential candidate without political experience who is likely to get in the race is former Ruth's Chris CEO Craig Miller, but Yob said "he doesn't fit the mold of other candidates who overperformed with grassroots tea party support in 2010."
Just how toxic is Charlie Crist?
Almost two years after his fumbled Florida senate bid against red-blooded Republican Marco Rubio, attack ads can be built around even a mere association with the former governor.
Florida State Representative Adam Hasner, who’s angling for a national promotion with a Senate seat , released an ad today linking opponent George LeMieux with the most recent Florida political tragedy, Crist. The clever, bait-and-switch ad highlights some very un-Republican positions while panning up on an image of Crist, only to have the camera pull away showing LeMieux in a close embrace with the former governor and the revelation that the positions are of the current senatorial candidate.
The picture — showing LeMieux in a near-cheek-kiss with Crist — is as subtle as a quietly and expertly twisted prison shank in an already swift turf war.
While the Washington Post has already asked if Hasner is “the next Marco Rubio?” his team is still sensitive to accusation of less-than-conservative bona fides. Hasner, LeMieux and the third opponent, Mike Haridopolos, have been in a pissing match to convince Republican primary voters which one is more conservative. According to the St. Petersburg Times, the ad comes in the wake of LeMieux’s attempt to label Hasner “moderate.”
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