The Senate candidate is spending a lot of time raising campaign money and less time in front of media and voters.
By ANITA KUMAR and STEVE BOUSQUET
Published October 13, 2004
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Betty Castor spent less than an hour touting a new prescription drug plan to a roomful of retirees, then headed for the door.
The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate spent the rest of Saturday out of public view, raising money for her campaign.
Less than three weeks before the Nov. 2 election, Castor is running one of the most unusual statewide political campaigns by a major candidate in decades.
She spends far more time fundraising than appearing in public and rarely talks to reporters. Her Republican opponent, Mel Martinez, has events almost daily, sometimes several a day, and has directed aides not to rush him so he can spend more time at events or with reporters.
The Castor campaign says hurricanes and the Republican money machine force her to spend more time on fundraising than she planned.
"The money is disproportionate. He's the White House candidate," Castor's husband, Sam Bell, said of Martinez. "She's very busy. The days are just full. There is very little time for anything."
While Martinez attended a rally Tuesday outside Orlando with former first lady Barbara Bush, Castor flew to Chicago to raise money. She will be in Tampa tonight for a private fundraiser with former Texas Gov. Ann Richards. Suggested minimum contributions: $250.
Castor hopes to raise $10-million for the campaign, while Martinez estimates he needs at least $8-million.
But Martinez manages to appear at several public events a week. Last week, President Bush's former housing secretary attended nine public events that included a news conference in Orlando, a police endorsement in West Palm Beach and a debate-watching party in Palm Harbor with Vice President Dick Cheney.
"It parlays into how accessible you'll be as a U.S. senator," said Martinez spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe. "We're running for the United States Senate, and he's asking the people of Florida to vote for him. . . . He needs to be accessible."
Castor attended three public events last week, including joining Martinez in the Puerto Rican Day parade in Orlando, where neither spoke. She also spent time at fundraisers in California, New York and Washington. Her next event will be Saturday afternoon in Pensacola with Sen. Bob Graham, who is retiring.
In some ways, the Castor approach reflects the changed realities of campaigning in America's fourth largest state, with 10 media markets and two time zones.
"That's the name of politics today," said Stephen Craig, a University of Florida political science professor. "If you try to win voters on a personal level, you just can't win."
Castor's campaign reflects her style: cautious, disciplined, measured.
Almost every minute of Castor's day is carefully planned, both to stay on schedule and to prevent distractions. The former state education commissioner and University of South Florida president rarely allows reporters to travel with her - and not in the same car with her - so she can have time to herself. Castor's campaign refuses to release her schedule, choosing instead to issue news releases for her public events, sometimes at the last minute.
At her event in Hollywood last week, a reporter asked an aide to spend time with Castor. "Actually, no. She has to fly," a spokesman said.
While opinion polls show the race is a toss-up, Castor's campaign considers her a financial underdog. Florida is one of a handful of states with contested Senate races that could determine whether Republicans maintain their narrow majority in the Senate.
It has been 14 years since Castor last ran for public office, a period almost twice as long as Martinez has been in politics.
Yet Martinez seems more at ease around reporters, who can ride with him between events as he conducts leisurely, free-flowing discussions. A reporter who arrived at the campaign headquarters unannounced was allowed to hang out in the office as staffers conducted private strategy discussions. Martinez releases weekly schedules, with periodic updates, and minute-by-minute schedules for some individual events.
He's also raising fistfuls of money. Last Saturday, Martinez collected $400,000 at a Jacksonville fundraiser with Cheney.
Raising money "has taken away from the normal hand-to-hand campaigning that politicians like to do," said Castor's son, Frank Castor, a Palm Beach County prosecutor campaigning for his mom.
Is this the same Betty Castor who became the first woman elected to the Hillsborough County Commission in 1972 by walking door-to-door?
That was the same era when a virtually unknown state senator drew public attention by walking across the state. Lawton Chiles, one of Castor's role models, won a U.S. Senate seat in 1970.
Many political experts now consider gatherings with small groups a waste of time. But while much has changed in politics since Castor's first race three decades ago, the campaign she is waging today is different from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's successful race four years ago.
In 2000, Democrat Nelson and Republican Bill McCollum criss-crossed the state, campaigning at small and large gatherings right up until Election Day. Six weeks before the election, Nelson took reporters with him on a three-day swing through the Panhandle that included 15 public events, including one that started at 6:30 a.m.
But this year, after four hurricanes in six weeks interrupted the political season, Florida voters are more likely to see their candidates during a commercial break on TV than speaking at a local civic meeting.
Since the Aug. 31 primary, Castor has appeared at about 15 events, including the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Orlando. Martinez has attended 44 events. The totals include only events the public could attend, not invitation-only events.
Even before her primary election victory in August, Castor planned few public appearances, traveled less than other candidates and spent more time raising money than wooing voters.
On the road in the last few days before the election, Castor held a handful of daily events.
In a trip to Jacksonville in August, Castor spent a couple of hours relaxing alone in her hotel room. Later, she talked to voters at a shopping center but stayed a half hour, leaving after she was interviewed by a local television station.
Her chief Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, campaigned feverishly, holding events morning to night, including a 12:15 a.m. stop at an all-night diner.
She crushed him anyway.
Castor and Martinez raised about $5-million during the primary and decline to say how much they have raised in the general election. In a recent letter to supporters, Castor said the hurricanes cost her $1.2-million in campaign contributions - a "disaster" that left her unable to buy much-needed ads.
The Democratic and Republican parties each plan to spend $2-million for ads in the race. Republicans initially reserved another $3.5-million for ads for the remainder of the race, according to Castor's campaign. They now plan to spend $1.8-million, according to Martinez's campaign.
The Democrats reserved $3-million in ads and EMILY's List, a national political group that supports female candidates who support abortion rights, plans to spend another $904,000 for ads, according to Martinez's campaign.
"Every year, the cost of campaigning has gotten greater," said Lee Moffitt, a former Florida House speaker and Castor supporter. "That's the bad part in running for office today. There's very little time to sit down and discuss the issues."
