Senate battle fizzles nationally; Magazine editor says he's convinced Rep. Harris can't defeat Sen. Nelson.(B SECTION)(Political Notebook)(Column)

Byline: Jeremy Wallace

A yet-to-be-identified Hawaiian has almost as much of a chance of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate as Longboat Key Republican Katherine Harris, according to a national political magazine.

A year ago, The Hotline rated Republican attempts to unseat Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, as the seventh-best race in the nation.

Now, Chuck Todd, editor-in-chief of The Hotline, has pushed the race to 15th, just ahead of the race in Hawaii in which incumbent Sen. Daniel Akaka, a Democrat, has no Republican opposition. Akaka's last Republican opponent in 2000 failed to win more than 25 percent of the vote.

"We don't even have a candidate there," said Brian Nick, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

But the party is looking for someone to challenge Akaka.

Todd said he's convinced Harris can't win the race and his magazine may push that race even lower if Harris remains …