WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- In a blow to ex-GOP U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, the Florida Right to Life Committee endorsed two of his opponents Monday in the upcoming GOP Senate primary.
The committee, the state affiliate of the politically influential National Right to Life Committee, gave its seal of approval to former U.S. Housing Secretary Mel Martinez and Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, citing their commitment to protecting the sanctity of life.
In surveys of Florida GOP voters, McCollum, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2000, Martinez and Byrd have consistently finished in the top three, with McCollum and Martinez battling for the lead.
Following the lead of the NRLC, which issued similar endorsements in June, the FRLC said it was withholding its backing from the ultra-conservative McCollum because he has changed his position on banning embryonic stem cell research, meaning he "is not considered to be 100 percent pro-life by (FRLC's) standards."
