Katherine Harris (born April 5, 1957) is a former American politician. A Republican, Harris served in the Florida Senate from 1994 to 1998, as Secretary of State of Florida from 1999 to 2002, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 13th congressional district from 2003 to 2007. Harris lost her 2006 campaign for a United States Senate seat from Florida, after a significant loss of party support.
In the 2000 presidential election, she received international attention for her role as the Florida's secretary of state during the state's election recount, certifying George W. Bush's narrow victory (537 votes) over Al Gore and awarding him the Florida electors, which gained him the national election.
Early life and education
Harris was born in Key West, Florida, to one of the state's wealthiest and most politically influential families. She is the daughter of Harriett (Griffin) and George W. Harris Jr., who owned Citrus and Chemical Bank in Lakeland, Florida. Her maternal grandfather was Ben Hill Griffin Jr., a successful businessman in the citrus and cattle industries and a powerful figure in the state legislature. Shortly before his death in 1990, he was ranked as the 261st richest American on the Forbes 400 list. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida is named for him.
Harris graduated from Bartow High School in Bartow, Florida, in 1975. She attended the University of Madrid in 1978. Harris received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, in 1979. She studied under Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer at the L'Abri community in Huemoz, Switzerland. While in college, she interned for U.S. representative Andy Ireland.
Before entering politics, Harris worked as a marketing executive at IBM and a vice president of a commercial real estate firm. Harris earned a M.P.A. from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1996.
Career
Harris ran for the Florida senate as a Republican in 1994 in one of the most expensive state races in Florida history to that time.
Florida senate and Riscorp
Harris played a prominent role in introducing William Griffin (with whom she had a close personal relationship), the CEO of Riscorp, to various Florida legislators. In the 1994 state senate election, Sarasota-based Riscorp, Inc. made illegal contributions totaling $400,000 to dozens of political candidates and committees, including $20,600 to the Harris campaign.
Two years later, in 1996, Harris sponsored a bill "to block Riscorp competitors from getting a greater share of Florida workers' compensation market, [and] also pushed a proposal that would hurt a particular competitor." This issue later emerged during her campaign for Florida Secretary of State in 1998.
William Griffin eventually pleaded guilty to illegal campaign donations, among allegations of other serious wrongdoing at Riscorp, and served prison time in 1998. The election of Republican Jeb Bush as governor of Florida is considered to have been a major factor in stopping further state investigation into the Riscorp scandal. According to a Sun-Herald column from June 2005, "Harris denied any knowledge of the scheme, was never charged with any crime and was cleared of wrongdoing by a state investigator."
Florida secretary of state
Harris was elected Florida Secretary of State in 1998. She defeated then-incumbent Sandra Mortham in the Republican primary and won the general election against Democratic candidate, Karen Gievers, an attorney from Miami. A state constitutional change, passed in the same year, making the Secretary of State an appointed office. This change made Harris the last person to be elected Secretary of State in Florida.