THERE'S A LONG WAY TO GO, SO LOOKING AT POLLS...

With just over a year to go before a potential Republican primary to decide who would challenge U.S. Senator Bill Nelson's bid for reelection, one has to seriously take polling numbers with a grain of salt. At this early stage, polling results usually just reflect name recognition as current or potential candidates are more concerned with raising money and making appearances at various party "meet and greet" events.

So reading Sarasota Herald Tribune political writer Jeremy Wallace's blog this morning, that's the attitude I take in reading that the GOP-leaning Strategic Vision poll asked registered Republicans who they would pick in a race between Florida House Speaker Allan Bense and Congresswoman Katherine Harris. Harris was the easy winner with 59 percent. Bense earned only 13 percent, with 28 percent undecided.

No great surprise there. Anyone in Florida who follows politics knows who Katherine Harris is. Ask them who the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives is, and that's another story altogether. Just remember, in politics, things change quickly.

Wallace writes that Harris is planning a big rollout for her upcoming Senate campaign next month, with Bense only saying that he would make a decision on wheather to run soon.