Senator Bill Nelson is the last remaining Democrat to be elected statewide in Florida, leaving many Republicans to believe that he would be an easy target as he faces reelection next year. But the latest polling from the race conducted by Quinnipiac University indicates the Republicans will have a much more difficult time knocking off Nelson than they previously imagined.

Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson begins his reelection year with a 55 - 31 percent lead over U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, the only announced Republican challenger in the 2006 Florida U.S. Senate race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 57 - 33 percent Nelson lead in an August 31 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN uh-pe-ack) University.

Democrats back Sen. Nelson 83 - 7 percent, while Republicans back Rep. Harris 63 -22 percent and independent voters go with Nelson 59 - 25 percent.

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"Even though Florida voters are not enthusiastic about sending Bill Nelson back to the Senate, he will do fine as long as Katherine Harris is his opponent. Congressman Mark Foley would be almost as strong a Republican candidate for the Senate seat even though he is relatively unknown statewide compared to Harris," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.


Florida Republicans say 46 - 29 percent that they would prefer Rep. Harris over U.S. Rep. Mark Foley as their Senate candidate. Nelson leads Foley 55 - 27 percent.

With numbers like these for Harris and Foley, it's no wonder that the Speaker of the state House, Alan Bense, is reconsidering his decision to sit out the race.

The poll also finds -- surprisingly -- that Democratic Rep. Jim Davis is leading both of his major Republican competitors (albeit slightly) in the race to succeed Jeb Bush as Governor.