MIAMI – Janet Reno plans to take the first official step Tuesday in the race for Florida governor, setting up a possible matchup between the former U.S. attorney general and President Bush’s brother, The Associated Press has learned.
Ms. Reno will open a campaign account to enable her to raise money for the gubernatorial bid, two Democratic sources said Monday. The sources, who are close to Ms. Reno, spoke on condition of anonymity.
Earlier Monday, Ms. Reno said she planned to announce Tuesday whether she would seek the office held by Jeb Bush.
“I think you should stay tuned,” she told reporters at a Labor Day picnic near her home in southwest Miami-Dade County. “People want somebody who will lead with independence, with strength, who will work hard for what is important.”
Three union members handed her an anti-Jeb Bush T-shirt outside the small pavilion where 40 members of the South Dade Democratic Club gathered for hot dogs and hamburgers. The words “Jeb 2002” were circled and crossed out on the T-shirt, with the words “Nuff Said” emblazoned underneath.
“I think it’s a perfect fit,” Ms. Reno said with a smile.
Polls have shown that Ms. Reno would beat other Democrats seeking the nomination but would lose to Mr. Bush, who is running for re-election. Democrats are watching the race closely because many think Mr. Bush worked behind the scenes to help his brother beat Al Gore in the Florida balloting and recounts. The governor has denied the allegations.
For four months, Ms. Reno has traveled the state in her red pickup, talking to voters at small gatherings and sounding out a potential candidacy through radio and television interviews.
Some of the controversies that dogged her during her term as President Bill Clinton’s attorney general could resurface during the race, including her ordering the Branch Davidian assault at Waco in 1993 and her approval of the seizure of Elián González from his Miami relatives last year.
Many Cuban-Americans opposed her decision in the Elián case, and the former attorney general has reached out to them during the summer.
Ms. Reno, 63, was found to have Parkinson’s disease in 1995 but has said the disease would not prevent her from serving as governor.
“You all just have to get used to the shaking,” Ms. Reno said in June.
