BY BILL RUTTY AND JEREMY WALLACE
THE LAKELAND LEDGER

Gov. Charlie Crist’s decision to leave the Republican Party and run for the U.S. Senate as an independent appears to be paying off, a new Florida Poll shows.
…
Assuming Meek wins his primary and is in the race, Crist leads Rubio with 41 percent of the vote to Rubio’s 30 percent, with 12 percent going to Meek, according to the poll of 590 likely voters surveyed from July 24 to July 28. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

The Florida Poll was conducted by New York Times-owned Florida newspapers, including The Ledger, and the University of South Florida Polytechnic in Lakeland.

…for voters like Sarah Cross of Sarasota, the move is being received more as an act of defiance to the political status quo. Cross, a Democrat, said Crist’s move showed political bravery at a time when most politicians just go along to get along. “…once he had done something like that to put his own future at risk, I thought he really is trying to do the right thing.”

Barbara Abowitt, a retired teacher who lives in Bradenton, had a similar view. She said Crist’s switch showed he was willing to stand up to his party, not just in leaving the Republicans but also in vetoing legislation such as Senate Bill 6, the teacher tenure bill.

“He was willing to buck his party,” said Abowitt, who calls herself an independent voter.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist leads the three-way race for the U.S. Senate seat with 37 percent, followed by 32 percent for Republican Marco Rubio and 17 percent for Jeff Greene, the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. If U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek wins the Democratic primary, Crist’s lead would be 39 percent to 33 percent for Rubio and 13 percent for Meek.

In the Senate race, Crist’s lead is based on getting half the independent voters, about 20 percent of Republicans and about 40 percent of Democrats. His 53 – 37 percent voter approval of his job as Governor probably is a factor in his lead.

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POLITICO.COM

Rep. Darryl Rouson, an African-American Democratic state lawmaker who has been a friend of the Crist family for two decades, acknowledged he has taken flak for publicly backing the governor’s candidacy. But he also stressed that many black voters will quietly pull the lever for Crist without ever admitting it.

“Frankly, the Democratic party can’t scream to high heavens, because so many Democrats across the spectrum are also supporting Crist. So they have to be careful who they crucify. His record is not so bad among black voters. He’s appointed black judges. He just appointed two black members to the Public Service Commission. He put teeth in the Civil Rights Act as attorney general,” said Rouson.

“They’re not going to vote for Rubio or for a billionaire who bet on the housing crash,” he continued.

BY TOM JENSEN
PUBLIC POLICY POLLING

Thanks mostly to support from Democrats Charlie Crist is the leader in the Florida Senate race. In the most likely match up against Kendrick Meek he gets 35% to 29% for Marco Rubio and 17% for Meek. His lead expands with Jeff Greene as the Democratic nominee. In that scenario Crist gets 38% with Rubio still at 29% and Greene at only 13%.

Crist has become the de facto Democratic nominee and that’s where most of his support is coming from. He’s currently getting 44% of Democrats in the Meek match up, along with 40% of independents and 23% of Republicans. Crist has increased his support across the board since PPP last polled this race in early March. At that time, while still a Republican, he got just 27% to 34% for Rubio and 25% for Meek. He’s now doing 12 points better with Democrats, 5 points better with independents, and somewhat surprisingly even 5 points better with Republicans.

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BY PETER WALLSTEN
WALL STREET JOURNAL

“So many of the elected politicians in Washington seem to be shackled by the fear of a primary,” Mr. Crist said in an interview last week in this seaside city, where he attended a briefing on the effects of the Gulf oil spill. As an independent, Mr. Crist said, he is free to speak his mind without worrying about the most ideological voters.

“It’s liberating,” Mr. Crist said. “It’s a lot of fun, and I’m convinced it’s what the people want.”

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BY ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES
NEWSWEEK

Not long ago, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist seemed like a dead pol walking. Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio was thrashing him in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. Crist’s 30-point lead had swung to a 30-point deficit; funding was drying up, as were endorsements.

“He’s deader than the day before yesterday,” former state GOP chair Tom Slade told the St. Petersburg Times in late April. “I don’t think there’s any way in the world he can rehabilitate himself.” Crist’s collegial centrism, the conventional wisdom held, had become anachronistic at a time when angry right-wing populism had overtaken his party.

Yet here we are, less than three months later: Crist, now running as an independent, leads Rubio by almost 5 points, and he’s ahead of potential Democratic opponents by much more, according to a Real Clear Politics average of polls.

The stunning reversal raises a possibility with wider implications: “In this national environment of very polarized politics,” says Daniel Smith, a political-science professor at the University of Florida, “voters may be interested in more moderate candidates.”

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Gov. Charlie Crist has $8.2 million in the bank for his independent Senate campaign, compared to $4.4 million for the leading Republican, Marco Rubio.

BY BETH REINHARD
MIAMI HERALD

Gov. Charlie Crist raised $1.8 million for his independent U.S. Senate campaign in the past three months, trailing Republican Marco Rubio but conserving millions of dollars more for the last few months of the campaign.

Rubio reported a monster-sized $4.5 million haul earlier this week — replacing Crist as Florida’s fundraising champ. Still, Crist’s latest donations were up from the $1.1 million he collected in the previous three months before he ditched the Republican Party.

“I couldn’t be more delighted. It’s uncharted territory,” said Crist, who leads the polls.

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BY JOHN WHITESIDES
REUTERS

Florida Governor Charlie Crist holds a narrow edge over Republican Marco Rubio in a three-way Senate race dominated by economic worries, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

Crist, who left the Republican Party to run as an independent after Rubio mounted a primary challenge against him, leads Rubio 35 percent to 28 percent. Democrat Kendrick Meek trails with 17 percent less than four months before the November election for the open Senate seat.

Crist holds a similar 34 to 29 percent edge over Rubio in a three-way race against Democrat Jeff Greene, who is locked in a tough party primary fight with Meek. The Florida primary will be held August 24.

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“Independents gain favor in governors’ races”
BY SUSAN PAGE
USA TODAY

“There are more signs of centrists stirring as national politics remain sharply polarized, a factor some candidates site for leaving behind of being pushed from their old allegiances. Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who became an independent candidate for the Senate … now leads the 3 way field”

“Democrats quietly line up in Crist’s corner”
BY WILLIAM MARCH
TAMPA TRIBUNE

“Charlie has his heart in the right place.”

“’Crist was a breath of fresh air for moderate Democrats and independents,’ said Lance Block, a prominent Tallahassee lawyer and party activist who recently co-sponsored a fundraiser for Crist.”

“Prominent Elected Broward Democrats helping Crist raise money”
BY ANTHONY MAN
SUN SENTINEL

“[Representative] Porth said his personal experience serving for four years in Tallahassee under Crist showed him the governor has qualities that would make him a good senator.”

“I believe in the Democratic Party and I believe iin what it stands for. I just believe Charlie Crist is the best candidate in this particular race. I hope that many people in the Democratic Party feel the same way and join me.” – Rep. Ari Porth

“Charlie Crist Picking Up Labor Support in Florida”
BY ERIC KLEEFELD
TALKING POINTS MEMO

“John Lindstrom, international representative for the Pipe Trades union in Florida and the Carolinas, told TPMDC that Crist’s record on key issues for the construction business, such as a recent jobs bill, made him the best way to go.”

BY WILLIAM MARCH
TAMPA TRIBUNE

TAMPA – You may never have heard of Peggy Land, unless you’re a Tampa Democratic political insider.

She’s a proverbial little old lady in tennis shoes, but along with her late husband John, she has also been a faithful Democratic political donor – some $20,000 to the party and its candidates over the last decade or so, plus more from fundraisers in their home, and none to Republicans.

So who is Land backing in the U.S. Senate race?

Gov. Charlie Crist, a former Republican running as a no-party candidate.

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The Florida Pipe Trades, a Labor Organization, representing Plumbers, Pipefitters, Sprinklerfitters, A/C Service Technicians, and Welders has today endorsed Governor Charlie Crist in the 2010 U.S. Senate general election.


The Florida Pipe Trades was formed in 1941 and represents more than 12,000 Florida workers. The Pipe Trades has membership throughout the state with offices and training centers in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Daytona Beach, Orlando, Tampa Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Pensacola.





In these challenging economic times, Governor Crist understands the difficulties facing working families in Florida. His non-partisan candidacy offers working Florida families an opportunity to send an experienced leader to Washington to work on their behalf.


Jobs are a top priority of the Florida Pipe Trades and that is a priority shared by Governor Crist. The Florida Pipe Trades looks forward to working with Governor Crist to make sure every Florida worker has a good paying secure job.


Fraternally,


Phil E. Trucks, Jr.


President

BY ANTHONY MAN
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL

When Gov. Charlie Crist stopped in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday for a fundraiser for his U.S. Senate campaign, he got an extra gift.

Roy Rogers of Lighthouse Point presented Crist with a male and a female chrysalis, each it its own plastic container.

Rogers said they’d become monarch butterflies in eight days. He called the gesture “an elegant way to express a thought: this is a journey. Watch out when the real life stage occurs.”

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