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Then & Now: Katherine Harris
 Katherine Harris was thrust into the spotlight during the 2000 election dispute in Florida. SPECIAL REPORTYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- In 2000, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris was a lightning rod in her state's bitterly contested presidential vote count. Today, she is a second-term Republican congresswoman from Florida's 13th district. Harris -- who was co-chairwoman of George W. Bush's 2000 campaign in Florida -- oversaw her state's election tally, eventually certifying the GOP candidate as the winner by 537 votes over Vice President Al Gore. The Florida Supreme Court ordered a statewide recount of disputed ballots, but the U.S. Supreme Court brought a halt to further recounts, paving the way for Bush to become president. During the 36-day-long dispute, officials recounted ballots, fretted over hanging and pregnant chads, and wrangled with attorneys from Democratic and Republican camps. Harris was criticized on everything from partisanship to her makeup and hairstyle. "It was a very isolating time," Harris told CNN. "We had all kinds of issues of security and death threats, ... but at the end of the day, our laws were sufficient, you know, and we elected a president without a drop of blood spilled and no coup d'etat." In a January 2001 interview with CNN's Larry King, Harris said the most difficult moment during the protracted post-election drama came when ballots from two counties were moved to Tallahassee in trucks. Television broadcast the event live, causing a comedian to liken the sight to the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase. "He said all of America sat and hoped, as they watched Ryder trucks going down the road bringing the ballots, that O.J. had murdered me," Harris recalled. "And that hit very hard." Her family was her main source of comfort then, she told King, adding that she cherished flowers and messages she received from others. And what about all those jokes about her appearance? She brushed them off, telling King that many of the men who criticized her on TV were wearing more makeup than she ever did. This sense of humor and her self-deprecation have helped Harris cross political lines in Congress. "I think they had to learn that I really wasn't Cruella De Vil," she said. "I think that was a learning curve, but they've been more than gracious, they really have. ... I've worked very closely with a number of Democrats who've really helped." Harris hasn't always had her eye on political prizes. In 1994, she was a Florida socialite with a Harvard education. She applied her business acumen to real estate and was involved in charities devoted to the arts. Harris also had deep pockets. She inherited ambition and reportedly close to $7 million from her cattle and citrus tycoon grandfather, and she focused her energies on winning a state Senate seat in 1994. In the 1998 race that saw her elected Florida secretary of state, she ran a fierce campaign that included scorching attacks in the primaries against a Republican mentor and friend, according to Time magazine. After the 2000 election controversy, Harris threw her hat into the ring for a U.S. House seat in 2002 - and won. The new congresswoman obtained assignments on the House Committee on Financial Services, the House Committee on Government Reform and the House Committee on International Relations. During her inaugural year, Harris sponsored and introduced the American Dream Downpayment Act, which aims to help low-income Americans buy homes. "Passing that bill was ... very tense. It was not this shoo-in sort of bill that people love to say now happened," she said. "The most important aspect wasn't really how I felt, but how those first people feel when they get to own their first home." But Harris likely will remain best known for her role in the 2000 election -- what she called "Center of the Storm" in the book she wrote about her experiences. She keeps a bronze statue of a Florida ballot, complete with dangling chads, in her office on Capitol Hill. She said she thinks it helps to break the ice. "No. 1, it's in my office so that people don't feel awkward about bringing it up. It ... kind of takes the edge away," she said. "But then secondly when I thought that my time in public service would be ended, I just had to do the right thing, and this is to remind me to always act with integrity." When she isn't in Washington, Harris makes her home in Sarasota, Florida, with her husband, Anders Ebbeson, and stepdaughter Louise. 
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