Sen. Saunders quits attorney general race

Citing a crowded Republican field, difficulty raising money and his desire to maintain his Senate seniority, state Sen. Burt Saunders said Wednesday he’s ending his quest to become Florida’s next attorney general.

“My conclusion is I can best spend my time helping Charlie Crist become governor and continue to focus on my role of state senator,” Saunders said.

Crist, the current attorney general, is one of the Republicans seeking to become governor.

By dropping out now, Saunders, R-Naples, will remain a state senator representing Collier and Lee counties for the next two years. Had he gone through with his campaign, Saunders would have been required to resign.

Saunders is the chairman of the Senate Health Care Appropriations Committee, a position that gives him enormous influence over health care issues.

Collier GOP Chairwoman Carla Dean said Saunders had to make the choice that was best for him.

“It was his decision to make,” said Dean. “He still has his Senate seat.”

A return to the Senate will only be for the next two years. Saunders is term-limited out in 2008.

Political experts gave Saunders little chance of winning the Republican primary. He was polling fourth in a four-man race.

Republicans running in the primary include former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum and state Reps. Joe Negron and Everett Rice. The attorney general serves a four-year term.

With a high-profile governor race on the same ballot, the attorney general race wasn’t expected to generate much attention.

That made it hard for Saunders to get attention for his underdog candidacy.

“It’s very hard to raise money for a down-the-ballot race,” Saunders said. “Most people don’t know what the attorney general does and, quite frankly, most people don’t care.”

Contacted Wednesday, Negron said Saunders brought considerable environmental credentials to the race, but agreed that fundraising this late in a crowded campaign would make it difficult for any candidate.

As of March 31, Negron had raised almost $1.3 million, while Saunders has raised $265,000.

McCollum, who has raised $500,000, is the acknowledged front-runner in the race. He has national name recognition built up as one of the House Republicans leading the charge to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998.

Since then, McCollum has run twice for the U.S. Senate, losing both times.

In the latest poll released by the Tallahassee-based Strategic Vision LLC, Saunders came in last among the four candidates running for the Republican nomination. According to the poll, McCollum would get 43 percent of the vote, Negron would get 12 percent, state Rep. Everett Rice, R-Treasure Island, would get 7 percent and Saunders would get 4 percent.

About 34 percent of the people polled were undecided. The poll had a 3 percent margin of error and was conducted April 21-23.

The lone Democrat running is state Sen. Walter “Skip” Campbell of Broward County.

University of Central Florida political scientist Aubrey Jewett said Saunders had enormous disadvantages in the race.

A candidate from Miami, Orlando or Tampa can enter a race knowing he or she probably will have support from the hometown area on which to build. Saunders may have support from his hometown area, but it’s not as big a hometown area as other candidates enjoy, Jewett said.

“If you’re from Southwest Florida, you can count on 5 to 10 percent of the electorate knowing who you are when the race begins,” Jewett said. “If you’re in the area between Miami and Palm Beach, you might be known by 20 to 25 percent of the electorate.”

Saunders moved to Collier County 24 years ago to serve as Collier County government’s attorney. Since then he has been a county commissioner, a member of the state House and now is in the state Senate.

Saunders’ return to the Senate is bad news to Republicans who had hoped to run for his seat. State Rep. Dudley Goodlette, R-Naples, was seen by most as the front-runner for the seat if he chose to run.

Goodlette, who is term-limited out of his house seat this year, had said he would consider running if Saunders resigned. But he also said he would need to talk it over with his family before any decision was made, and wouldn’t make any decisions until Saunders officially resigned.

Goodlette could not be reached for comment Wednesday.