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LAKELAND -- Willie Logan has always been a political prodigy.

He was a mayor at age 23. A state representative at 25, he began moving into the House leadership shortly after he turned 30.

In 1996, he was elected Democratic House leader.

Now, at 43, he is running for the U.S. Senate with well-known advisers and managers.

Some political observers expect him to make the strongest showing ever of an independent candidate for a Florida post. Logan said he expects to win.

A recent Florida Poll, sponsored by The New York Times Regional Newspapers in Florida, showed that Logan indeed could be a viable candidate. Ten percent of the voters surveyed said they would vote for him in a three-way race that included the Republican and Democratic candidates.

But Logan has had to fight to prove that he is a viable candidate and that his objective is to win, not to punish political opponents.

In 1998, Logan was removed as House Democratic leader amid claims that he had not built up a war chest for House elections that fall and had not attended to administrative business.

Some Logan friends charged that it was racially motivated. In what appeared to be attempts to take advantage of the situation, the Republican leadership in the House immediately offered Logan a committee chairmanship, which he turned down, and other benefits. He accepted the offers that came in the form of projects for his district.

But Logan said both parties misunderstand his run for U.S. Senate. He is not running to help Republicans win the U.S. Senate race, and he is not running for vengeance against the Democrats, he said.

"I would describe Willie Logan as what you see is what you get," Logan said. "I don't do anything to be vindictive."

He said his run as an independent is the only way he could get on the general election ballot in Florida so that all voters could have a chance to decide.

Republican and Democratic Party leaders choose their statewide candidates based on a profile that they say can win and he didn't fit their profile, Logan said.

He is still a Democrat, but that is the ethical thing to do for his constituents, Logan said.

"I don't intend to remain a registered Democrat after this session, but I feel that I owe it to my constituents who elected me as a Democrat to remain that way until after the session," he said.

In the Florida Poll, 52 percent of black voters surveyed said they would vote for the Democrat in the race, Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson. Republicans must choose in the Sept. 5 primary between U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum and Education Commissioner Tom Gallagher for their nominee, who will meet Nelson and Logan in the Nov. 7 general election.

Logan accuses the news media of defining him narrowly and putting him into a rhetorical corner because of his past troubles with Democrats in the House.

He did not leave the floor of the House during Gov. Jeb Bush's State of the State speech, nor did he speak at the rally protesting Bush's One Florida, which eliminates certain affirmative action programs. He said he resents the perception that he should be concerned only with "black issues."

"It seems to me that the media wants to pigeon-hole black elected officials," he said. "And the fact that I am talking about the increase in gas prices and the potential effects on the economy makes me defined, all of a sudden, as out of touch and not engaged.

"I am not allowed to focus on more than just black issues.

"I question the motives of people who would allow me through their reporting to be a leader only in one set of issues," he said. "I didn't ask for it, but all of a sudden you all (the news media) made me a black star. But I am portrayed as either a black leader or no leader at all."

"Why can't I just be Willie Logan? I am proud to be black and proud of my heritage," Logan said. "It's a given, so now let's move on from there. They don't say 'Bill Nelson, the white insurance commissioner,' or 'Tom Gallagher, the white commissioner of education.' You have my picture there, and it is pretty obvious what my race is."

Willie Logan was born and grew up in Opa-locka near Miami. He received a degree from Miami-Dade Community College in 1976 and a degree in business administration from the University of Miami in 1977, where he also received an MBA in 1996. A John F. Kennedy School of Government fellow, Logan is completing work on a doctoral degree in economics.

As a college student, Logan became interested in politics because of what he felt was unfair representation in his community.

"There were 12 candidates running for mayor, and even though the city was 60 percent black, there was no black candidate running," he said. "I was an accounting major at the time, and when no one stepped up to the plate, I did.

"I had no name and no money, but I won. Then at 25, I ran for the House. People should have the opportunity to speak and to be heard."

Logan said he hopes to be heard loud and clear on election day. He does not begrudge the House Democrats because it really freed him up to make a lot of independent decisions.

He reiterated that he is not running to embarrass the party and is not allowing Republicans to use him to win the election.

"What do I have to gain out of this?" he said. "There are other ways I could get back at folks.

"I have always been able to define what is important to me and my family without compromising what I believe in."

Listen to Logan's discussion of his campaign and you will hear about the growing independent and third-party movements and how they need to be addressed by statewide candidates.

"Seventeen percent of the voters are registered now as independents or members of a third party," he said. "In 2004, it will be 26 percent. How can you disenfranchise a fourth of the voters in the presidential primaries or in general elections?" Logan said he does not need the large sums of money that candidates from the two major parties will receive.

"There are good examples that you don't need a lot of money," he said. "John McCain and Bill Bradley just proved that, but a lot of our success will depend on how effective we are in getting our point across to the press. The real challenge is to inspire the press that we are different from the candidates of the two major parties and that we are committed."

Logan's staff is committed.

His campaign manager is Mike Abrams, a former Democratic party strategist and official, and his political adviser is Sergio Bendixon, an adviser to Democratic governors and senators for more than two decades. His financial chairman is Louis Wilson, and Steve Craig is his pollster.

"These are people I have surrounded myself with for years," he said.

Logan said his campaign is meant to be inclusive for all groups and he hopes to show that he is the candidate most likely to ignore special-interest groups.

Not only is the voter registration at 17 percent for independents and third-party members, Logan said, but with three or more candidates in the general election the amount of votes needed to win is lower.

In a three-way race, the winner could collect 35 percent to 40 percent of the vote, he said.

But the perception that Logan's race will help the Republican candidate by drawing away black votes from the Democrats, and Logan's frustration with the repeated use of that perception in newspaper and television reports, keeps other issues out of the limelight.

"The press is very powerful, and when you all decide you are ready for me to be a player, to get in the game and stay in the game," Logan said, "then I think the time will have come to have a lively discussion of the issues in this race. This is particularly true once I have the opportunity to stand on the stage and to define and address the issues that are most important to voters."