It's Reno Time!

AP/Wide World Photo

Is Janet Reno's Dance Party ready to play in Tallahassee?

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More About

• Janet Reno
• Earlier Westbrook
• Jeb Bush
• Hugh Westbrook
• Rob Schroth

"It would be very easy to underestimate Janet Reno as a candidate for governor, but that would be a mistake," says Rob Schroth, a prominent political consultant and pollster based in Washington. "Any strong law-and-order female Democrat would be a formidable candidate against the current governor, especially one with access to money and who has high favorability ratings. She has instant, huge-name recognition. We know she has a base in South Florida. We know she is popular among women. The question is, Can she attract the vote of suburban Democrats and independents along the I-4 corridor, who have become the key to victory in recent years?"

Reno is particularly appealing to Florida's Democrats, who have been floundering without a standard-bearer. "The blush is off the Bush rose," Schroth says. "But without a clear Democratic alternative, he stood to win by default. However, the entrance of a dramatic candidate into the race would make it immediately competitive. It would certainly be a war."