STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Election

• Tickets gone for Biden rally
• Marco Islanders share the experience of Palin’s visit to Southwest Florida
• Monday is deadline to register to vote

Share and Enjoy [?]

Democrats heading for the polls as early as next week will see the name of Walter "Skip" Campbell on the ballot for Florida attorney general.

He'd rather they didn't.

Campbell is the victim, or if you prefer, the beneficiary, of an old-school political maneuver intended to get his name out in public.

Campbell said he thought he would be the only Democrat seeking the post until he received a visit from Norman Leonard, an 80-year-old Broward County political consultant.

"He told me I needed an opponent," Campbell said.

Campbell, a state senator from Fort Lauderdale, disagreed.

But he couldn't persuade Leonard that his limited campaign funds would be best spent in the general election where he will face Bill McCollum, a former U.S. congressman who has name recognition earned in two previous runs for the U.S. Senate.

So Leonard got his personal attorney, Merrilee Ehrlich of Pompano Beach, to run as a Democrat against Campbell.

Campbell says that to Leonard's way of thinking, a primary opponent is a boon to a presumptive nominee. It puts the name before voters and earns ink in the newspaper. But Campbell argues that much has changed since Leonard worked on the campaigns of the 1970s.

Today, name recognition is purchased through advertising. Politicians craft their message through paid TV spots rather than relying on news coverage. Money spent making sure Ehrlich doesn't win the nomination in a fluke is money that could be better spent closer to the main event, when McCollum is sure to be using the $1.6 million he's already raised to get his name in front of voters yet again.

So far, Campbell has raised $960,739, according to the Secretary of State's office. He's spent just under $200,000.

McCollum, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2000 and 2004, has spent about $455,000.

Ehrlich, whose sole campaign contribution to date is a $10,000 check from herself, has spent $7,666, the filing fee required to get her name on the ballot.

Ehrlich and Campbell are not strangers. About 20 years ago, Campbell, a trial attorney by trade, represented Ehrlich after she was involved in a series of car accidents. Ehrlich was not at fault in any of the crashes and Campbell helped her get money for her injuries, both said.

Campbell says Ehrlich is a nice person and Ehrlich says Campbell is a good attorney. Other than that, they haven't had much occasion to speak to each other on the campaign trail. Ehrlich filed papers to run on the last day of the qualifying period and had back surgery soon after. She hasn't actively campaigned since.

Ehrlich says she got into the race to give Democratic voters a choice on primary day. "There should be a Democratic primary in September. The members of the Democratic Party should have a say in who represents them," she said.

After running a non-campaign to this point, does she have a last-minute push planned? "You'll have to wait and see," she said.

Campbell doesn't see Ehrlich's candidacy as anything more sinister than a well-intentioned effort to help him. "It's misguided, but it's benevolent," he said.

And maybe it's been the least bit effective. It got Skip Campbell mentioned here.