Harris Lends Campaign $3 Million, Hires New Staff

By WILLIAM MARCH and KEITH EPSTEIN The Tampa Tribune

Published: Apr 5, 2006

TAMPA - Seeking to reinvigorate her beleaguered U.S. Senate campaign, Katherine Harris has fielded a new campaign team and pumped $3 million of her personal wealth into the election bid.

Days after Harris locked out former staff members and posted a guard at her Tampa headquarters, she announced that an "experienced group of seasoned professionals with decades of campaign experience" is taking over her campaign.

Some of the new staff members, including new general consultant James Lafferty, have links to culturally conservative political causes. Lafferty worked for the Traditional Values Coalition and embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader who announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election.

Lafferty said the new Harris team is not oriented to any particular cause or ideology.

Harris' $3 million loan addresses a question asked by Republican Party insiders who have wondered whether she would make good on her vow - made three weeks ago to Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity - to use her entire $10 million net worth on the campaign.

Harris arranged the loan in a way that allows her to use the money immediately, rather than saving it for late-campaign television advertising costs as she said earlier she would do.

That means the money could dissuade potential challengers for the GOP nomination.

Harris expects to face Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who is running for re-election, in the general election.

Speaking of the $10 million, Harris told Hannity, "We'll put this aside; this is what we'll commit to use at the end."

On campaign finance forms, however, Harris designated the money for the primary election - meaning she can spend it now or use it after the Sept. 5 primary.

Asked the reason for that, her new spokesman, Chris Ingram, said, "I'd have to explore that to give you a fair answer."

Asked whether plans for use of the money have changed, Ingram said: "The things the congresswoman says on television you need to take at face value. ... The intricacies of our campaign funding are not for public dissemination."

Harris may need the money now to keep her campaign running.

A statewide campaign in Florida requires substantial overhead. Harris reported $1 million in the bank at the end of 2005 - including $250,000 of her own money lent to the campaign previously - and her fundraising has slowed this year, campaign insiders say.

Ingram declined to comment about fundraising.

Harris said on the March 15 show that her campaign was "at ground zero; we are recharged, restarting; we're ready to win."

On Tuesday she spoke of further reinvigoration, after the last few key staff members quit over the weekend.

She said in a media statement that the new team "will implement a positive strategy for victory in November," and in an e-mail to supporters that she is "thrilled with our new team and I believe they will be the difference we need to defeat Bill Nelson."

Besides Lafferty and Ingram, new Harris hires include:

•Media consultants Paul Wilson and Steve Grand of Wilson-Grand Communications, in charge of campaign advertising. Harris said they have "the best incumbent-beating record of any Republican firm in the nation." They replace Adam Goodman of The Victory Group of Tampa, a longtime adviser of Harris.

•Glenn Hodas, campaign manager, also associated with Wilson-Grand.

•Pat Thomas, field coordinator.

•Fundraiser Erin DeLullo, president of DeLullo and Associates LLC of Washington. Her duties will include national fundraising, an area Harris depends on heavily because of her national reputation.

The new staff members have histories of association with congressional or gubernatorial campaigns in other states.

Ingram, a Tampa resident, is the founder of 411 Communications of Tampa.

Harris' news release described Lafferty as "a former spokesman for the House Republican leadership."

Lafferty said he worked in 1994-95 for DeLay, the Texas Republican whose announcement he won't seek re-election came in the wake of an indictment on charges of campaign finance irregularities.

Lafferty said his work for DeLay was "pre-Jack Abramoff." DeLay aide Tony Rudy admitted in a plea agreement last week that he worked deals with disgraced lobbyist Abramoff.

Lafferty's wife, Andrea, is executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, an advocacy group devoted to religious values in government and opposed to abortion and gay rights. Lafferty has served as the group's spokesman.

Lafferty also was a spokesman for Californians for Moral Government, a group opposed to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He said he has worked in several Republican presidential administrations and congressional campaigns and did public relations for clients ranging from electronic gaming to a king in Ghana.

Reacting to the Harris announcement, Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said, "Several extremist groups have said they would do anything possible to smear Bill Nelson, and Mr. Lafferty's arrival signals that that may be the case."

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.