By Mark Hollis
Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE -- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bill McCollum filed a complaint with the GOP on Wednesday against party rival Mel Martinez, saying Martinez is depicting McCollum as being in cahoots with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

McCollum, a former congressman from Longwood, said in a letter to state GOP Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan that Martinez has attacked his character and integrity "in a manner that is quite simply deplorable."

In the letter, Jennifer Coxe, Martinez's campaign spokeswoman, is quoted as saying: "There are three people against Mel Martinez: Democrats, Castro and Bill McCollum. That's the company [McCollum] keeps."

Martinez, a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from Orlando, also has said on several occasions that McCollum is "working together" with both Castro and Democrats.

"This stoops to a new low," said Shannon Gravitte, McCollum's spokeswoman. "Comparing Bill McCollum to Fidel Castro is outrageous. This is not a charge that Bill McCollum takes lightly."

Martinez aides described McCollum's complaint as an attempt to beef up the former congressman's image among Cuban-American voters, whom Cuban-born Martinez is counting on for a substantial share of his vote.

They noted that it comes on the heels of the distribution in South Florida of a McCollum campaign brochure that touts McCollum's views on U.S. policy with Cuba and Castro. The flier also promotes endorsements he has received from two influential South Florida GOP congressmen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart.

Coxe noted that Martinez has been criticized sharply in recent days in the Cuban government-run newspaper, Granma, including an article earlier this year in which Martinez was described in a headline as a "terrorist candidate."

Both McCollum and Martinez share nearly identical stances on Cuba policy, according to their advisers.

Both, for instance, favor broader travel restrictions on Cuba and a repeal of the Clinton administration's so-called "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy that sends refugees intercepted at sea back to the island.

Dario Moreno, a political scientist at Florida International University in Miami, said the spat highlights the importance of the Cuban-American vote, which he said makes up about 16 percent of the statewide Republican primary vote.

"It means the race is getting really tight, and it signifies the increased importance of the Cuban-American vote in Florida politics," Moreno said. "McCollum is just making clear that he is not going to concede the Cuban vote to Martinez, and Martinez is continuing to make a play for those votes, as well."

Eight Republicans and four Democrats are vying for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Bob Graham.

The primary is Aug. 31.