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Fabrizio on a new, self-funding Senate candidate: “About 50-50”

Posted Aug 9, 2011 by William March

Updated Aug 9, 2011 at 12:16 PM

Veteran South Florida Republican pollster and political consultant Tony Fabrizio says the GOP Senate primary is ripe for a new, self-funding candidate, that he’s talked to more than one such potential candidate and thinks the odds are “about 50-50” that one will enter the race.

Recent polling shows a large majority of GOP voters undecided in the race. “The field is wide open,” Fabrizio said.

He said that doesn’t mean GOP voters are dissatisfied with the current field of candidates—Adam Hasner, Geroge LeMieux, Mike McCalister and Craig Miller—but that they don’t know them.

But, he added, “There is no one in the race who has captured the imagination of the GOP primary voters. The danger for them (the current candidates) is that it is such an invitging target. If you ever wanted to be a U.S. Senator, this is an opportunity that is tough to pass by.”

Fabrizio said he has discussed the race with Newsmax mogul Chris Ruddy, though he denied he was trying to “solicit” Ruddy to run. He said he has talked to at least two other potential candidates, but wouldn’t name them.

Speculation has focussed on Palm Beach millionaire Nick Loeb, son of a prominent New York broker, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales of St. Petersburg, but Loeb said Wales wasn’t one of the potential candidates he’s talked to.

“They key for all these people is they need to bring their own resources to the table,” he said. “The establishment money is going to gravitate to the establishment players.”