Smith is the former state attorney who prosecuted Gainesville serial killer Danny Rolling before becoming a state Senator and losing a 2006 Democratic primary for governor. He has been considering the AG race and would be considered a formidable candidate because of his statewide name-identification.

Smith today stopped short of saying he won’t run for AG, but noted that he talked to Darnell before she endorsed Aronberg.

“I have not made any announcement on this, but certainly when my friends are announcing their support for other people, it can be assumed that most of them don’t think I’m going to be running,” Smith said.

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Democractic activist Joan Joseph poses in her Lake Worth office before the 2008 Democratic National Convention, where she served as a delegate. (Cydney Scott/Palm Beach Post)

UPDATE: Democratic activist and prolific lensman Rick Neuhoff has posted a large collection of photos of Joan Joseph here. Also, a memorial page has been set up here.

Joan Joseph, a Jupiter resident who was a key political operative for candidates from Barack Obama to West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel, died early today of cancer.

Mrs. Joseph, 64, was a go-to figure for Democratic candidates seeking to build a grass-roots organization in Florida. She was a paid staffer in Palm Beach County for Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, then was the statewide coordinator of volunteers for John Kerry’s 2004 campaign.

When Barack Obama launched his presidential bid in early 2007 as a decided underdog, Mrs. Joseph was a key early organizer in Florida.

“She was one of the first people that we went to for Obama” in Florida, said Kirk Wagar, who was the Obama campaign’s Florida finance chairman. Obama’s first major Florida event, a March 2007 “low-dollar” fund-raiser that drew about 1,000 people to the Palm Beach County Convention Center, was largely put together by Mrs. Joseph, Wagar said.

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State Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, just issued a statement saying he’s very interested n running for attorney general. Reading between the lines, it seems he’s a tad disappointed by fellow Democratic Sen. Dave Aronberg’s announcement today that he’s running for AG.

Gelber

Gelber recently dropped his U.S. Senate bid in the name of party unity and said he hoped that he, Aronberg and Rod Smith could avoid a messy Democratic primary for attorney general.

“My hope was that there would be time for all of us to be thoughtful and to unify, but given Senator Aronberg’s decision, I will my announce my plans soon,” Gelber said.

Read Gelber’s full remarks after the jump…..

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Not so.

“I’m still very much considering getting into the attorney general’s race,” Smith said this afternoon.

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Casting himself as a consumer advocate

Aronberg

Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican, is running for governor in 2010. Several Democrats and Republicans have been eyeing his job.

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Gelber, state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, and former Democratic state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua are all continuing to explore runs for the state’s top legal post in 2010. Incumbent AG Bill McCollum is running for governor.

The three potential Democratic candidates have talked extensively to each other over the last few weeks about avoiding a primary, but so far none has ruled out running.

“When we get into these primaries, it tends to become a circular firing squad,” Gelber said today.

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Power lawyer George LeMieux, former chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Crist and former deputy attorney general when Crist was AG, notes in his latest online political newsletter that he’s a potential candidate for AG now that incumbent Bill McCollum is poised to run for governor.

He also notes that Dems Dave Aronberg, Dan Gelber and Rod Smith are potential AG candidates (Read more about the looming Democratic battle here).

LeMieux lists Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and state Rep. Tom Grady as potential Republican candidates, then notes: “Yours truly has also been mentioned as a contender, having served three years as Deputy Attorney General – the number two legal officer in the state.”

LeMieux’s prediction: “The AG’s race will be wide open.”

Aronberg says he’s ready to submit paperwork to launch a 2010 attorney general campaign if incumbent Bill McCollum fulfills expectations and announces he’s running for governor.

Aronberg’s friend and fellow Democrat Rod Smith, the former state Senator and unsuccessful 2006 governor candidate from central Florida, is also eyeing the race. And there’s widespread speculation among Dems that state Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, will drop his U.S. Senate bid to enter the AG contest.

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State Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, and former Democratic state Sen. Rod Smith are pals who both have shown interest in a possible run for attorney general next year. Read more about it here.

- From The Post’s S.V. Date

State Sen. Rod Smith Thursday picked up the endorsement of the son of the last Democrat elected governor, the late Lawton Chiles.

Bud Chiles, who himself ran briefly for the job before learning that the state Constitution’s residency requirement made him ineligible, called Smith “the man to led the Democrats to victory.

Charlie Crist is $2.8 million ahead of Tom Gallagher in cash raised in the Republican primary for governor.

Crist continued to raise substantially more money than Gallagher in the three months ending June 30. Crist collected nearly $1.8 million compared to Gallagher’s $1.1 million.

Crist has raised a total of $10.6 million and has $7.8 million left in the bank. Gallagher has raised a total of $7.8 million and has $6.45 million left in the bank.

Democrats did poorly compared to the Republicans.

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Jim Davis edged past Rod Smith in cash raised during the three months ending June 30.

Smith, a Gainesville-area state senator, raised $560,000. His campaign noted that he had five weeks fewer than Davis to raise cash because of the legislative session.

Davis, a Tampa-area congressman, raised more than $650,000.

Both of the Democratic campaigns for governor proclaimed themselves pleased.

State Senator Rod Smith, Democratic candidate for Governor, will appear on Fox News’ Hannity and Colmes show tonight; the show airs from 9:00 to 10:00PM.

They are going to discuss a high profile Gainesville rape case with some similarities to the widely reported Duke rape investigation. Smith was state attorney at the time of the 1999 Gainesville case.

A story about the Gaineville case appeared Sunday in the St. Peterburg Times.

ST. PETERSBURG — Florida’s four candidates for governor offered strikingly different views of the state’s education system Friday with Republicans talking about great gains and Democrats arguing that Florida schools have suffered severe setbacks.

Gov. Jeb Bush and the GOP led legislature have brought the state better schools, more accountability and higher scores in reading, argued GOP candidates Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher.

Not so, said Democrats Jim Davis and Rod Smith. Both argued that Republicans have turned schools into testing centers while failing to increase teacher pay and reduce class size. “I’m proud of what Gov. Bush has done to bring more accountability to schools,” said Crist, Florida’s attorney general.

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After eight years of fighting teachers unions and Democrats over his education policies, Gov. Jeb Bush said he is confident that the reforms will stand up on their own after he leaves office in January.

“Of all the things that I’ve been involved in, this is the one where my passions lie,” Bush said. “This is the one that you can’t expect immediate gratification. It requires continuous stick-to-it-iveness.”

- From Dara Kam of The Post’s Tallahassee bureau

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