Sarasota Herald-Tribune: In Race for Congress, Hewing to Party Lines

By ZAC ANDERSON

Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain were in the room for the 13th Congressional District candidates' debate Friday, but their positions were well-represented.

The final match-up between the congressional candidates illustrated a wide gulf in their views, with the top two candidates hewing closely to the presidential candidates of their parties.

When asked about taxes, Democrat Christine Jennings said she supported Obama's tax increase for those making more than $250,000 and cuts for middle-class families.

Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan, like John McCain, vowed not to raise any taxes, a continuation of President Bush's tax cuts.

The previous night, in a televised debate, Jennings noted her support, like Obama's, for an orderly withdrawal of troops from Iraq, while Buchanan and McCain would not put a timetable on withdrawal.

On energy, Jennings opposes oil drilling in sensitive areas and sets a goal of energy independence in 10 years. Buchanan has emphasized nuclear power, like McCain.

Buchanan differs from McCain on oil drilling off Florida's coast, but agrees with McCain that drilling should be allowed in Alaska.

On health care, Jennings supports Obama's plan to expand health insurance coverage with increased taxes on wealthier Americans.

Buchanan opposes "socialized medicine" but does not have a position on McCain's plan, which provides tax breaks for families to buy their own insurance.

Like McCain, Buchanan has portrayed himself as a maverick who breaks with his party on occasion while Jennings touts her fiscal conservatism but largely toes the Democratic Party line.

The public policy positions of Buchanan and Jennings have largely been relegated to the background by a barrage of attack ads with which both candidates have flooded the airwaves.

Jennings and Buchanan are locked in a rematch of a race that in 2006 was one of the most expensive in the nation and was won by Buchanan by just 369 votes. T

hat combativeness continued Friday in the event before the South County Tiger Bay Club as Jennings hammered Buchanan on lawsuits filed against the congressman and his businesses.

In her opening statement, Jennings cited a lawsuit against Buchanan.

"The man accuses him of fraud," she said. "These are not my accusations."

Buchanan responded that the suits are politically motivated, but spent more time touting his local support. He noted that 11 out of 12 mayors in District 13 endorse him, as have most newspapers.

There has been only one independent poll in the race. It was conducted between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 and showed Buchanan with 49 percent of the vote, Jennings with 33 percent and the rest divided among two independent candidates and undecided voters.

Buchanan said after the debate that he is confidant of victory with 10 days left in the race, while Jennings said she does not put much stock in polls and will campaign hard until the final hour.

"I don't believe the polls," Jennings said. "My instinct tells me people are hurting and they want change."

"We're going to continue to work hard and earn every vote we can," Buchanan said.

Jan Schneider, a Democrat running with no party affiliation, received 9 percent of the vote in the SurveyUSA poll.

Despite her low poll numbers Schneider, who has run for the District 13 seat on three previous occasions, has been running television advertisements and hopes to have a strong showing.

"I think we'll get double digits," she said. "Nobody is talking about the real issues."

Some believe Schneider could act as a spoiler for Jennings, who lost to Buchanan by a razor-thin margin in 2006 in a much more closely watched race that required a recount to certify the results.

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