Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist has decided he will run as an independent in the race to fill the Florida U.S. Senate seat, Crist allies tell Fox News. The official announcement is scheduled for Thursday at 5pm ET in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Senate campaign has been rough and tumble for Crist, he was once the front-runner -- but in recent months began trailing his GOP opponent, Tea Party favorite and former Florida State Speaker Marco Rubio. Rubio has been able to turn a 30-point deficit in the polls into a 30 point lead over Crist.
Crist has said that under no circumstance would he drop out of the race, saying he will do what is best for the voters of Florida. The governor says Republicans in Washington want him to stay in the Republican party but voters in Florida have told him they want him to run as an independent.
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Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Florida in Play
Governor Charlie Crist has apparently decided that he will announce that he is dropping out of the Florida Senate Republican primary and run as an independent.
I can't see Rubio winning any less than 33-35% of the vote based just on the conservative vote alone. A built-in advantage that large in a 3-way race will make him a formidable opponent.
ReplyDeleteThe question will be how the other 67-65% break down. Crist's only chance is going to be to siphon votes from Meek. Because we both know that no orthodox conservative is going to vote for him.
That being said, who do you see Crist caucusing with if he wins? I have a hard time seeing conservatives tolerating the Republicans inviting Crist into their caucus. Especially if he has to campaign in a way that appeals to Meek voters.