There are 33 Senate races this year, which means there are at least 66 campaigns that are vying for attention and working hard to put their best foot forward. And yet, there’s something about one of the 66 that just boggles the mind.
In an effort to jump-start her sputtering Senate campaign, Rep. Katherine Harris went on national television invoking the memory of her late father and saying the money he left her will form the financial foundation of her challenge to Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Now the Harris campaign says that’s not the case.
Campaign spokeswoman Morgan Dobbs said Thursday that Harris will sell her existing assets rather than rely on money from her father, a bank executive who died in January.
“It is my understanding from her statements that she does not plan to use inherited money on the campaign — rather, money from liquidating her personal assets, which she says total $10 million,” Dobbs wrote in an e-mail to the Orlando Sentinel. “I think I am being pretty clear.”
Actually, “clear” is not the word that comes to mind. Harris has sworn up and down that she’ll invest her inheritance in the campaign. Now, not so much. But this isn’t an example of Harris going back on her word because, well, her campaign says so.
Harris hadn’t been coy about the use of personal wealth. On national television, she said, “I’m going to take his legacy that he gave to me, everything I have, and I’m going to put it in this race, I’m going to commit my legacy from my father — $10 million.” When Sean Hannity asked, “This is money from your father?” Harris replied, “Yes.”
That was a week ago; now it’s no longer true. It’s almost as if Harris is trying to be an embarrassment.
And how does Harris’ campaign staff prepare to deal with all of this incompetence? Apparently, they’re planning to quit — to make room for Harris’ spiritual advisors.
As Katherine Harris’ rocky Senate campaign takes an increasingly evangelical Christian bent, her remaining top campaign staffers are preparing to jump ship.
Colleagues say Harris’ closest confidante lately appears to be spiritual adviser Dale Burroughs, founder of the Biblical Heritage Institute in Bradenton.
“Dr. Dale,” as she is known among campaign staffers, describes herself as a licensed clinical pastoral counselor who counsels in behavior temperament, career, crisis and disaster, among other things.
Burroughs has been advising Harris for years, but lately has had a more prominent role as Harris stopped listening to other campaign advisers. Burroughs said she has little role in the campaign beyond helping reach out to religious voters and is merely a Bible study partner and close friend.
Friends and advisers say Harris has been deeply religious all her life, but religion recently has become a central part of her campaign. Campaign staffers warily describe Harris as leading a “Christian crusade.”
It’s like watching a political train wreck in slow motion — and not being able to look away.