Harris, Nelson Debate in Florida

DAVIE, Fla. - Republican Rep. Katherine Harris and Sen. Bill Nelson agreed in a debate Monday night that a timeline shouldn't be placed on removing troops from Iraq, but they disagreed about how to move forward.

Harris, the former Florida secretary of state who gained the adoration of the Republican rank-and-file after overseeing the recount that put George W. Bush in the White House in 2000, is trying to unseat Nelson, a Democrat who has been in Florida politics for more than three decades and is seeking a second Senate term.

Harris won her congressional seat in 2002 and was re-elected in 2004.

Nelson said he supports a proposal to divide the country into three ethnic enclaves - a Kurdish north, Sunni center and Shiite south. But he said it would not work unless the world community got involved and Arab neighbors enforced it.

"What's the best chance we have to stabilize Iraq? It's that political solution, but you can't do it alone cowboy style," Nelson said.

Harris, on the other hand, twice used a Republican catchphrase that the United States can't "cut and run."

On energy policy, Harris said the nation should drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, while Nelson supported alternative fuel sources.

Harris badly needed to score points in the debate. She trails Nelson in most polls and doesn't have nearly as much money to launch her message through television ads. As of Sept. 30, she had less than $1 million in her campaign coffers, compared with $6.8 million for Nelson.

She also must overcome a rocky campaign season. She has struggled to get support from state GOP leaders who tried to recruit someone else to run. Campaign workers have defected in droves, and she has had to answer questions about her dealings with a corrupt defense contractor.

During the debate, Harris defended herself against the $32,000 in illegal donations she received from Mitchell Wade, saying she didn't know the money was tainted. She has said she gave it to charity. She criticized Nelson for $62,800 in illegal contributions he received as insurance commissioner in the 1990s.

"He's never chosen to voluntarily return it," she said.

Nelson shot back: "Not only did I return all of that, I put the company out of business. I shut them down."