MCCOLLUM IS A CANDIDATE AGAIN? MAYBE SO

Thanks to Mark Lane at FlaBlog for the heads up!

Bill McCollum, who served in Congress for two decades and was defeated in two attempts to seek a U.S. Senate seat, has reportedly decided to run for Attorney General, according to the St. Petersburg Times' political blog The Buzz.

The former Clinton impeachment manager, who was defeated in a nasty GOP primary to Mel Martinez last year to replace former U.S. Senator Bob Graham, would become the fourth Republican in the race, but he would likely be the instant frontrunner because of his statewide name recognition and popularity among the GOP's conservative base.

The four candidates who have already qualified are all state legislators:
State Senator Walter G. "Skip" Campbell, Jr. (D - Fort Lauderdale)
State Representative Joe Negron (R - Stuart)
State Representative Everett Rice (R - Treasure Island)
State Senator Burt Saunders (R - Naples)

So far, Negron is the top fundraiser in this group, with over $602,000 this year. If, indeed, McCollum decided to jump into the fray, expect to see Rice and/or Saunders withdraw soon afterward. McCollum would be an extremely difficult candidate among the GOP electorate to overcome.