The two leading Republican candidates looking to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson traded shots on Monday as they enter the final three months of the primary.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux has done well In terms of gathering the support of Republican members of the Florida Legislature -- more than 30 so far have endorsed him -- former U.S. Sen. Geroge LeMieux has done well. In fact, some of those legislators went to bat for him Monday in his primary fight against U.S. Rep. Connie Mack.

LeMieux supporters in the Legislature, including two state senators who face term limits -- Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville -- and five Republicans in the  Florida House: Dennis Baxley of Ocala, Rachel Burgin of Riverview, Larry Metz of Yalaha, Jimmie Smith of Lecanto and Ritch Workman of Melbourne -- sent a letter to Mack demanding he release his travel records. The LeMieux team has looked to score political points by insisting that Mack has more ties to California -- home of his wife, U.S. Rep. Mary Bono Mack -- than he does with the Sunshine State.

“Since you are asking the citizens of Florida for a promotion to the U.S. Senate, you owe ‘We The People’ an accounting of your time,” the legislators insist in the letter. "On several occasions you've declared that you only spent 11 days in California last year. If you can pinpoint the number of days you spent on the West Coast, you are certainly able to document the amount of time you spent in Florida over the years.

“You've often declared yourself the strongest candidate to face Bill Nelson in the general election,” the legislators continue. “The question surrounding the amount of time you spend in Florida is an area of inquiry that Nelson will surely exploit should you win the primary. That is why, for the good of the Republican Party, we ask you to please release your travel vouchers and official calendar for 2010 and 2011 and put this issue to rest.”

The Mack team swatted back at LeMieux, insisting that there is no issue with their candidate’s residency and launching a new attack ad of their own.

The new Web ad, which the Mack team notes can easily be transfered to television, attacks LeMieux, who served 16 months in the Senate, for joining then-U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, to jump over and vote with the Democrats to break a Republican filibuster on President Barack Obama’s jobs bill back in 2010.



Besides unveiling the new ad, the Mack camp looked to undermine their primary opponent’s conservative credentials by pointing to LeMieux’s ties with former Gov. Charlie Crist, who remains a persona non grata with Florida Republicans for bolting the GOP back in 2010 to run for the U.S. Senate with no party affiliation.

“This ad speaks for itself, but the math here is easy," said David James, a spokesman for Mack, on Monday. “When Charlie Crist hand-picked George LeMieux to serve in the Senate, George returned the favor and turned his back on conservatives yet again, voting for one of President Obama’s failed pet liberal experiments. Florida already has one liberal in Bill Nelson and they can't afford another in the form of George LeMieux.”

Other Republicans running in the primary include Mike McCalister, a retired businessman and Army officer, who took more than 10 percent when he ran in the Republican gubernatorial primary back in 2010.



Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.