Social Security Enters Elections

"I represent the state of Florida, not a political party," Shaw says in the ad. The 13-term incumbent is locked in a tight race with Democratic state senator Ron Klein.

Republicans elsewhere have also scrambled to distance themselves from the president on the issue. In Ohio, Rep. Deborah Pryce and Sen. Mike DeWine have struggled, under attack, to explain their positions on the president's plan.

DeWine said he opposes using tax dollars for private accounts, according to a candidate survey by AARP, the group formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons.

And Pryce said in a debate last month that while she still agrees with the concept, she has heeded voter demands to drop the issue, according to news reports. Her campaign has called her strong backing of the Bush plan "ancient history."

AARP yesterday released candidate surveys from 35 competitive House races and 10 competitive Senate races in which Republican candidates overwhelmingly refused to take a definitive stand on private accounts -- or opposed them outright.

One of the few exceptions was Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), chairman of a Senate subcommittee on Social Security and an outspoken advocate of the president's plan. He is trailing Democrat Robert P. Casey Jr. in recent polls.

Santorum told AARP that he continues to support private accounts, so long as they are voluntary. On the campaign trail, he has lashed out at Casey -- and Democrats in general -- for failing to offer their own ideas for tackling the Social Security problem.

"He won't give you an -- he won't give you an answer on Social Security. He won't give you an answer on anything to make any changes," Santorum said in a television debate last month. "My question to Mr. Casey is: If you're not for personal retirement accounts, which he says he's not, how much are you going to raise their taxes? Or how much are you going to cut benefits to fix the Social Security problem?"