Governor Charlie Crist made it official this morning - he will be a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Mel Martinez. Crist will face a potentially stiff primary challenge from Marco Rubio, the former Florida House Speaker. Rubio will surely attack Crist from the right, portraying himself as the true conservative in the race. Whether Rubio will gain traction remains to be seen. For what it's worth, the NRSC has lined up behind Crist.
Should he win the Republican nomination, Crist is a solid favorite to win the Senate seat. While it's a strong win for Republicans, Crist's less than conservative politics have roiled some conservatives in the past. Will Crist become more or less conservative as a U.S. Senator? Who knows? Crist does seem to have national ambitions. If he wants to run for President someday, it's unlikely that Crist will break that sharply from conservatives, as he would need their support in the future.
Crist's decision breaks with the conventional wisdom that being a Governor is a better national stage for running for higher office than being a Senator. Perhaps Crist would like to follow Barack Obama's example. While Crist running is good news for Republicans, it is bad news for Florida Republicans who will face a much tougher job in retaining the Governor's Mansion.
UPDATE: It didn't take long for the GOP primary race to start. This relatively tame web ad, released by Marco Rubio's campaign, seeks to identify Gov. Crist with President Obama's large budget and spending:
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Crist Changes Florida Political Outlook
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1 comments:
I wonder if Sen. Martinez is a possibility for the Gov race... He always like the executive positions better, and he was thinking about running in 06 before they got him to run for the Sen in 04. Unlikely, but maybe that's what was planned all along...
Btw, do you guys check your email? :)
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