(Photo: Robin Platzer/Twin Images)

The democratic elite of New York have a new cause célèbre: Defeat Katherine Harris, the congresswoman and former Florida secretary of State who helped throw the 2000 presidential recount fight to George W. Bush. Harris is running to unseat Democratic senator Bill Nelson, but her campaign has been a comedy of errors. In the wake of a bribery scandal and meager fund-raising, she announced this week that she’ll spend $10 million of her own money. Nevertheless, on March 20, Robert Redford will preside as guest of honor at a fund-raiser for Nelson at Ron Perelman’s mansion. A source familar with the event said that one reason Redford agreed to help is Nelson’s call for a moratorium on offshore drilling in Florida’s coastal waters, a big issue for the environmentalist actor. But the donors see it in more stark forms. “New York donors see this race as crucial because Katherine Harris was the gun moll in George Bush’s theft of Florida’s electoral votes,” says top donor Robert Zimmerman.

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• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Greg Sargent
• Table of Contents: Mar 27, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!