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Charlie Crist isn’t just winning in the Florida Senate race. His lead is actually getting bigger. A new poll put out by the Florida Chamber of Commerce shows Crist leading Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek 42%-31%-14%. In other words, Crist is polling well outside the four point margin of error.
The poll is the first indication that GOP nominee Marco Rubio just might be in real trouble. It was not long ago that Rubio was the darling of not only the Tea Partiers but also many establishment Republicans (including our very own David Frum). The game has totally changed. Rubio’s message of fiscal responsibility has been drastically overshadowed by the Gulf oil spill and the impact that it could have on the Florida economy if/when the oil finally reaches the Florida coast. Ironically, by having to run as an independent, Crist got out at just the right time. By not being called a Republican, Crist is less likely to be identified with the GOP position on drilling.
Rubio’s chances have also been adversely impacted by the Democratic candidate’s complete inability to gain any traction in the race. As the polling numbers show, Crist is successfully wooing the voters that just recently opposed him and the party he represented in Tallahassee. But the game has changed and the Rubio camp is stalled. If Mr. Meek fails to reassure the Democratic base, there is a real chance that mainstream Democratic voters will transfer their support to Crist to deny the GOP a win.
If Marco Rubio does not do something to win back the independents and moderate Republicans currently supporting Crist, he has no chance to beat the current governor. And if Meek keeps running a weak campaign, it may already be too late to catch Crist anyway. Uh oh, Marco.
muckraker, yeesh, that is a whole bunch of assumptions you are making. No one can tell anyone how to vote, but there ain’t nothing wrong with suggesting, and if a crackpot like Greene wins, why would Democrats throw their vote away on him in Nov. As a Democrat, you then take the lesser of two evils in Crist.
It was the same with Republicans in Ct. when Lieberman ran as an independent, the Republican nominee got like 3% or some such ridiculous number as Republicans there decided to vote for the lesser of two evils in Lieberman. I have no problem with this. Did it work out for Republicans, I don’t know as Lieberman has caucused with Democrats, so your assumption that Crist will caucus with Democrats is just that, an assumption. He might very well caucus with Republicans for reasons I outlined way above.
Has Crist come out of the closet publicly yet?
truth be told // Jun 22, 2010 at 5:28 pm
“Has Crist come out of the closet publicly yet?”
……why is this significant for you?
Re: FL is nothing like its deep-South neighbors
North Florida is the South. Peninsular Florida is, well, a little bit of everything in the US.
Rubio never had the independents and as far as Democrats in Florida the one thing we want to see more then anything is to beat this clown up and down the state so Meeks is not an issue. Crist will when this big and he will have most of us Independent Democrats on his side and I hope that will be the end of this little man Rubio.
easton // Jun 22, 2010 at 10:44 am
” so your assumption that Crist will caucus with Democrats is just that, an assumption. He might very well caucus with Republicans for reasons I outlined way above.”
……except that the Democrats have control of the gift hamper and can hand out more goodies
otto, yeah, I mentioned that, but I doubt he is looking for one term so staying a Republican might be better for his long term viability. Also he is a lifelong Republican, all of his people are Republicans, etc. You want to talk probabilities fine, but there is no certainty and I doubt we will hear Crist say he will caucus with the Democrats pre election so as to maximize his independence and get enough voters on both side thinking he will side with us. Not a bad strategy
@ ottovbvs,
truth be told // Jun 22, 2010 at 5:28 pm
“Has Crist come out of the closet publicly yet?”
……why is this significant for you?
Because if he is successful, he may end up voting on several issues of importance to the LGCT community, from the “Defense” of Marriage Act, to Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell, to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, etc.
Whether or not Crist is gay, as has been widely reported, is kind of germaine. What he thinks about equal treatment for LGB citizens is quite relevant, imo. That’s why.
Thanx 4 askin’.
JonF.
Yes. South FL, is not Central FL is not North FL.
In many voter-demo ways, it’s rather similar to IL.. (I live in Chicago, but grew up in So. FL.)
The fact that Gubernatorial & Nat’l FL elections are ever in dramatic electoral play tells you that FL is NOT like its Confederate neighbors. That’s not really so hard to understand, is it?
truth be told.
‘LGCT’ Community? Which community is that?
It’s LGBT.
(Or LGBTQ/LGBTI et al, depending upon how deep one is into this particular Civil Rights movement.)
What is telling, of course, is that the *only* voters interested in Crist’s sexuality are the homophobes.
No one else give a s**t.