Report: Dockery will run for governor
Sen. Paula Dockery's hometown newspaper, The Ledger of Lakeland, quoting "multiple Republican sources," is reporting that she will enter the race for governor next week. The paper didn't talk to Dockery, who said on her Facebook page that she was attending a funeral on Friday.
"There is no news to share at this particular moment in time," Dockery said Friday evening. "I am going to announce my decision next week."
The 48-year-old Dockery was elected to the state House in 1996 and the Senate in 2002 and chairs the Criminal Justice Committee, and would be term-limited out of the Senate in 2012.
Her entrance would create a party fight with Attorney General Bill McCollum and set up the intriguing possibility that both parties would nominate women for governor for the first time in the state's history. (The Democrats' likely nominee is CFO Alex Sink).
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This will be so much fun to watch!
She will get obliterated in this thing and will be nothing but a faint memory to but only a few Tallahassee insiders within less than two years.
Posted by: Fun | October 30, 2009 at 04:20 PM
...www.truthaboutpaula.com has been reserved.
Posted by: Somewhere in the bowels of RPOF... | October 30, 2009 at 04:29 PM
Is she positioning for LG?
Posted by: Randall Stevens | October 30, 2009 at 04:30 PM
Finally a little excitement in an otherwise boring race.
Posted by: Ned | October 30, 2009 at 04:32 PM
Paula doesn't want to be LG, she wants to be governor. She will definitely liven up the race and bring us a quality choice in the Republican primary. So excited to have someone I want to vote for this election cycle.
Posted by: ginger | October 30, 2009 at 04:57 PM
Paula wants the top job, Howdy Doody wants a strong fund raiser, he has talked to cannon, bennett, and someone in miami,. source won't say who. but he knows he needs help.
Posted by: outsider | October 30, 2009 at 05:14 PM
Pinellas for Crist:
http://pinellasforcrist.webs.com/
Call the Pinellas GOP, Tell PAM, to STOP Supporting RUBIO!
Posted by: Pinellas for Crist | October 30, 2009 at 05:16 PM
I think she is positioning herself for LG. There is no way that Dockery could think that she has even a snowballs chance in hell to win the primary against McCollum. she has about 6 months worth of campaign time (10 months minus 3 for session and committee weeks and 1 for holidays) not to mention she has to raise $money$ and lots of it because face it no one outside of baseball and lakeland has any idea who she is.
She will make just enough noise in the hopes that she will be offered LG to gracefully bow out during the spring sometime.
Posted by: Realist | October 30, 2009 at 05:22 PM
If McCollum losses he can atnk his staff. They s$%#*ck, fundraising= terrible, political director=awful, endless list campaign manager, never heard of him. You would think McCollum would the insight by now into how to run and manage a campaign.
Posted by: McCollum staff s&%$#ks | October 30, 2009 at 05:52 PM
This is great news for people who want to see Alex Sink lose. Sink will beat McCollum. She won't beat Dockery. No way, no how.
Posted by: Finally... A Way To Beat Sink! | October 30, 2009 at 05:52 PM
I'm voting for Dockery, McCollum has no chance against Sink.Also, McCollum's fundraising hasn't been very impressive. Sink has out raised him significantly each quarter. McCollum is a terrible candidate and has a proven track record of losing. If we were smart we'd vote for Dockery, but it will be McCollum who the Dems can't wait to run against. Sink will wipe the floor with McCollum
Posted by: Jeff | October 30, 2009 at 06:00 PM
Almost anyone would be better than Bill, but Paula who?
Is the GOP desperate or what?
First Charlie, now Bill, then along comes Paula, the farce goes on.
Give us a break.
Posted by: Disgusted | October 30, 2009 at 06:08 PM
Go Paula go!!!
Now we have someone other than Howdy Doody to vote for!!!
Posted by: It's on | October 30, 2009 at 06:16 PM
Somewhere out there Alex Sink is laughing her butt off.
Paula Dockery is the Ross Perot of Florida.
Posted by: Paula, you may now pour the gasoline | October 30, 2009 at 07:25 PM
Finally a candidate we can respect.
Posted by: Men for Dockery | October 30, 2009 at 07:35 PM
Yea! How awesome! A real candidate!
Posted by: Excited GOP | October 30, 2009 at 07:47 PM
this is fantastic. a real choice for governor!
Posted by: Republican of the Happy Variety | October 30, 2009 at 07:48 PM
Go Away, Bill!
The time has come for a real candidate, with real credentials, and real leadership skills.
Pack up your Congressional career and go home to your children.
Posted by: real candidates rock | October 30, 2009 at 07:49 PM
At least she has some leadership skills.
Posted by: Florida | October 30, 2009 at 08:41 PM
She has got to be kidding!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: <<<< | October 30, 2009 at 08:47 PM
We need strong leadership in this state.
We need someone who is not afraid to stand up for us.
Thank you, Paula Dockery
Posted by: The People | October 30, 2009 at 08:49 PM
McCollum is a serious man. these are serious times. He's going to win this thing.
Posted by: bottom line | October 30, 2009 at 08:51 PM
McCollum is a has been. McCollum is yesteryear's politician. McCollum is a Washington reject. McCollum is old. McCollum is boring. McCollum is vertically challenged. McCollum is Howdy Doody.
Posted by: between the lines | October 30, 2009 at 10:39 PM
I've known this since she asked to be my facebook friend.
Why else would these people be trolling for "friends?"
Posted by: no sh!t | October 30, 2009 at 11:11 PM
Hey Paula, besides Nick and Doug, who else is going to work on your campaign?
Posted by: Jus askin | October 31, 2009 at 04:42 AM
Dockery is unknown, so McCollum will win the primary. Thankfully, the other-than-republicans know him well, and Alex will beat him decisively.
Posted by: Old NE | October 31, 2009 at 05:35 AM
We(RPOF) are in deep sh-t...no real candidates to get excited about other than Rubio.Leadership in this party is at an all-time low....Can you believe we can loose the mansion and cabinet seats....Give me a break!
Posted by: givemeabreakharry | October 31, 2009 at 07:34 AM
I can't even estimate how many Repub women have said they cannot vote for McCollum. Too many to count. It's amazing how little support he has. If the party is serious about wanting to win this race, they'll encourage Paula, or at least stop discouraging her. Otherwise Sink wins the mansion.
Posted by: Wanna Win | October 31, 2009 at 09:32 AM
Okay, we've officially got ZERO leadership in the party and its chairman. To think a moderate beer-drinking Tallahassee-not Lakeland living, below average state senator could be a governor is truly laughable. Greer, why wouldn't you save us the embarrassment? Oh sorry, you're too busy dragging us all down.
Paula, you won't win Polk, much less Florida, so please take Sunday to think about it. Greer, pack up the uhaul; we may reconsider hiring you to manage Sloppy Joes.
Posted by: FloridaGetReal | October 31, 2009 at 09:39 AM
Paula Dockery? You mean the one whose husband is worth millions and interjects himself to use his wife to bring forth expensive failed ideas like the speedrail? Paula is NO conservative! McCollum will run circles around her! As to Sink, once she is forced to acknowledge her support for Obama's healthcare, stimulus package ,etc,etc, and her loser husband is McBride which they keep hushed up, she will SINK in the elections.
Posted by: commonsens | October 31, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Paula seems to have been busy blogging all night but other than her pollster that is soaking her for her husbands money and a few whack-job castoffs, who is going to support her?
No one.
Posted by: Paula Blogs | October 31, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Next week will be fun, I wonder if Doc knows that he is about to spend a few hundred thousand dollars to find out some really nasty things about his wife?
Posted by: Fun times | October 31, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Paula, since you seem to be spending alot of time on here blogging, let me ask, do you really think that the things you have spent years doing in Tallahassee aren't going to come out during this campaign? Really? Think about this before you end it all.
Posted by: Question | October 31, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Go Paula Go!
McCollum's time has come and gone. Plus he will be dragged down mightily by the failures of the R party, W's abysmal eight years, Jeb's sell outs to corporate America at the expense of the middle class and most of all...the inept totally clueless "leadership" of our favorite empty chair governor, Chuckles the Clown Crist.
The R party is in sorry shape nationally, at the state level and locally and these guys don't have a clue.
Paula will take these good old boys, slap em upside the head then kick em in the *ss, then give them a pat on the head and send them back to their corporate masters with a message that she rejects their corporate welfare and fleecing of Florida taxpayers.
If you don't believe me just ask JD and Constantine. They've still got welts on their fannies from the last two years of failed attempts to pass SCUMRAIL.
Paula will shake things up you can bet on it. This is what the RPOF needs.
Bye bye Fatboy, Frenchie, Chuckles, Strum, McCollum and the rest of the sychophants!
Posted by: terminator | October 31, 2009 at 11:11 AM
This won't be pretty. Think of it. Dockery has to stay a Senator to raise ANY money, and she'll have to be causing a scene on every issue to get statewide press. Let's watch Alexander, too. If he remains calm and doesn't oppose everything she does, it means he knows she cannot win and therefore doesn't care that she's running. He may even smile now and again at the thought of getting her out of the process. How's that for bellweather?
Posted by: Good Stuff | October 31, 2009 at 11:38 AM
The research on Dockery is going to be really funny then alittle sad then shocking. Her husband will be just shocking and scary to know that somebody would think that they could get away with stuff like that
Posted by: u-know-its-coming | October 31, 2009 at 12:35 PM
Chief of Staff: Arlene so you know she going to win.
Posted by: High-speed-rail | October 31, 2009 at 12:40 PM
Sorry 10:29 you can talk to my COS Arlene. She has the 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM shift and wont be back on until tomorrow after church and lunch so about 1:30. So any question you may have please talk to Arlene or you can post them and I will either deflect them or just say something crazy and shocking so you'll forget what you asked me.
Posted by: Paula Dockery | October 31, 2009 at 12:49 PM
As a Republican - she's qualified to run for Dog Catcher and that's about it. Hope she gives the other idiot McCollum a good run though.
Posted by: Ray | October 31, 2009 at 01:11 PM
A McCollum-Dockery primary battle is like watching a steeplechase with Shetland ponies.
Posted by: in this post i use a clever simile | October 31, 2009 at 01:25 PM
I think Paula is an excellent choice. Far better billy the loser. We need good for the people, not for themselves and business pols.
JEB!, Charlie, Alexander, Thrasher, etc have run this state into the ground and we need a decent person to bring it back.
Either Paula or Sink are lightyrs ahead of billyR-loser who couldn't beat anyone. He jumped the shark back during the Clinton impeachment where he lost that too.
Posted by: independent | October 31, 2009 at 01:30 PM
Delusional.
Posted by: one word | October 31, 2009 at 03:19 PM
Oh I just hope, HOPE that the rumors about her hiring Arlene are true. Hope!
Posted by: Hope | October 31, 2009 at 04:11 PM
Everyone keeps saying "wait til what happened in Tally comes out"...like what? You can negative mail and negative tv ad her with "bad" votes but you can't do it with rumors. No one outside Tallahassee will even understand any of the idiotic rumors that people like to suggest about female legislators. People who are Tally staff and lobbyists who are bored and have nothing else to do.
Posted by: ginger | October 31, 2009 at 09:18 PM
Ginger is right.
Rumor mongering won't change the fact that Dockery is a hard working, well qualified candidate who does her homework.
Posted by: let it go bitter little people | October 31, 2009 at 10:46 PM
All the negative comments are obviously from the good ole' boys who did all the negative posting the last TWO YEARS when SCUMRAIL was so obviously "a done deal". They say Dockery has had no effectiveness in Tallahassee yet she beat the BOYS 2 years and in a row and are trying desperately to bring it up again. Obviously you boys are scared and feel it necessary to blog anonymously.
Oh, how funny it would be to see you all having to work under Governor Dockery!
Posted by: The boys are freaked out!! | October 31, 2009 at 10:51 PM
I for one, am tired of hearing about the personal exploits of State officials. (Whether they be about someone I like, or someone I dislike). You idiots have been threatening to bring on the "proof" of Paula's alleged misdeads for the last 2 years. IF you had something you'd have leaked it WAY before now. BRING IT or SHUT UP!
Posted by: I'm pretty sure most people on here have at least a high school diploma...could we act like it? | October 31, 2009 at 11:24 PM
Restore my faith in this party that I am so close to abandoning! Take back our party Paula! True conservatives (the ones that actually attempt to make sense) are with you! GO PAULA!
Posted by: Looking for a little fresh air! | October 31, 2009 at 11:26 PM
11:26 spoken like a true crackpot. Do you really think the vast majority of Republicans are out of line and will someday join you in the lunatic fringe? Read my lips and repeat after me: "True conservatives" caused the recession. Bush was a "true conservative" just like you. "True conservatives" all voted for Bush - twice. Now try to figure out why so many republicans no longer support your far right "true conservative" agenda, dip.
Posted by: There's no fresh air way out in the ozone. | October 31, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Paula blogs, again, this time on the 9-11 shift.
Posted by: Paula Blogs | November 01, 2009 at 06:59 AM