Charlie Crist is poised to leap into the great unknown.
Because if, as widely expected, he runs for the U.S. Senate as an unaffiliated, independent candidate, all the long-held political assumptions about America's biggest battleground state are out the window.
Is the path to victory once again the swing-voter swath in the I-4 corridor? Not necessarily.
Does a race pitting two Republicans against one Democrat help the Democrat in a state with more registered Democrats? Don't count on it.
Florida elections are decided in the middle, so wouldn't that bode well for Crist? No one knows.
``The fact that the Democrats don't have an overwhelming candidate and the fact that [Republican Marco] Rubio has run so far to the right as the Tea Party candidate, allows Charlie a window, albeit a small one,'' said Democratic consultant Bob Buckhorn of Tampa. ``It's a very small window and it's an unprecedented strategy, but I don't see that he has any other way.''
Well, Marco Rubio could very well be indicted by November. How will THAT change this race, huh? At the very least he will be an embarrassment to the GOP nationwide. Will the Party of Acceptable Hypocrisy throw him under the bus where he belongs? Hard to say! Meanwhile, hardcore DEMs are not wildly enthusiastic about supporting Crist, due to his (up to SB 6) willingness to sometimes pander to the far right, such as his bailout of Big Sugar. He has their support because of SB 6, but if he doesn't follow through with lots of vetos of the absolutely crappy legislation which the wingnuts are pushing through in droves, he could lose it. Still every one is watching Charlie, and that's the way he likes it.
Posted by: We the People | April 21, 2010 at 08:38 AM
We the People you are wrong.
Charlie cannot win this as an Independent, NPA Dem or Republican.
The winner of this Florida senate race will be: U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R) Florida.
Posted by: Yep | April 21, 2010 at 08:52 AM
Charlie can thread the needle. The climate is right to take on the broken partisan party machines.
Posted by: stuntmanmike | April 21, 2010 at 01:54 PM