Associated Press
MIAMI — Janet Reno launched her bid for governor Tuesday, setting up a potential battle against the president’s brother that could be the most closely watched political contest of 2002. Even some Democrats, though, say Reno faces an uphill fight.
The people of Florida want a governor "who’s not afraid to make the hard decision, to stand up for those decisions," said Reno, who filed paperwork to open a campaign account in a bid for the Democratic nomination.
The campaign seems likely to resurrect some of the controversy that marked Reno’s tenure as President Clinton’s attorney general, from the cult disaster at Waco to the seizure of Elian Gonzalez from the home of his Miami relatives.
Polls show the 63-year-old Reno leading the crowded Democratic primary field but losing to Republican Gov. Jeb Bush in a general election.
The former Cabinet member’s long-awaited announcement means tremendous scrutiny will again fall on the politics of the Sunshine State, where President Bush captured the White House by a disputed 537-vote margin last November.
"It’s clearly the national headline race; nothing even comes close, not even the California governor,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Governmental Studies at the University of Virginia.
Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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