Rep. Katherine Harris was on Hardball this afternoon painting rosy pictures of her campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Host Chris Matthews opened the segment by saying that Rep. Harris had just told him off camera that her poll numbers were surging — that she had cut Sen. Nelson’s lead in half. Nelson lead Harris by about 30 percent last time I checked.

On September 21, Harris was allowed to attend a GOP rally in Orlando headlined by President George W. Bush. She was not allowed to appear on stage with the president and other Republican notables, which included the president’s brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, and the nominee to replace him, Charlie Crist.

Basking in their reflected glory seems to have helped.