Holly Benson
The race for Florida attorney general may be one of the hottest contests in 2010, but the presumed Republican frontrunner has yet to step in the ring.
Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, a former legislator from North Fort Myers, promised an announcement at the end of June. Kottkamp was in his Fort Myers office on Thursday and could not be reached for comment.
As his supporters wait, and the Ethics Commission weighs a complaint about his use of state airplanes, the name of a potential primary opponent has surfaced: Holly Benson, secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration and a former lawmaker from Pensacola.
“She’s a bright, articulate, young woman and a lot of people are looking to her as a potential opponent for Kottkamp in that race,” Sally Bradshaw, a veteran GOP strategist and former campaign manager for Gov. Jeb Bush, said during a discussion of recent poll results on a political Web-cast sponsored by Sachs Communications.
Benson on Thursday would only say she is weighing her options.
“Folks have asked me about it,” Benson said. “They’re looking for a lawyer and the party needs some diversity.”
For a time, Kottkamp considered running for governor, but he has backed current Attorney General Bill McCollum in that race.
In May, Kottkamp said he was leaning to the attorney general race. “I’m giving very serious consideration, most likely, to attorney general,” Kottkamp said then.
He said that would allow him to emphasize his strengths from working as a lawyer, a member of the Legislature and lieutenant governor.
Both Benson, 38, and Kottkamp, 48, owe their current jobs to Gov. Charlie Crist. Like Kottkamp, Benson was first elected to the House in 2000. Both were serving in the House when Crist came calling, selecting Kottkamp as a running mate during the campaign for governor; and Benson to head the Department of Business and Professional Regulation once he was elected. Crist named Benson to her current post in February 2008.
Benson said she has no timetable for making a decision. However, she said she is hesitant to leave the agency at a time when Congress is debating a massive overhaul of the nation’s health care system and at a time when her agency is about to roll out a major, electronic health records initiative.
