Nothing exemplifies the changing trajectory of the GOP Senate primary in Florida better than this chart thrown together by WaPo's Chris Cillizza:
The divergent political paths of Rubio and Crist can be documented neatly in the opposite arcs of their respective fundraising.
First, Rubio:
1st quarter 2009 (Jan. 1-March 31): $254,000 raised
2nd quarter 2009 (April 1-June 30): $350,000 raised
3rd quarter 2009 (July 1-Sept. 30): $1 million raised
4th quarter 2009 (Oct. 1-Dec. 31): $1.76 million raised
1st quarter 2010 (Jan. 1-March 31): $3.6 million raised
Now, Crist:
1st quarter 2009: N/A (Crist wasn't in the race)
2nd quarter 2009: $4.4 million raised
3rd quarter 2009: $2.5 million raised
4th quarter 2009: $2.1 million raised
1st quarter 2010: Not yet released
Not only has Rubio's fundraising increased in leaps and bounds -- virtually doubling itself in each of the last three reporting periods -- but in the last three months the former legislator raised more money than he did for the entire year of 2009 combined.
Of course, the corollary to Rubio's exponential growth in terms of fundraising potential is that Crist's own numbers have flagged markedly every single quarter. My guess is that if he was anywhere in proximity to Rubio's immense first-quarter take, his campaign would have blasted it out there today.
Nevertheless, he still plugs away, seemingly impervious to the collapse that is taking place around him. It is entirely possible that Charlie Crist is the last man in America that thinks he has a snowball's chance in Hell of becoming the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate out of Florida.
Recent polls have shown that his escape routes, at this point, are minimal. He still trails as an Independent candidate, and he trails Kendrick Meek in a prospective Democratic primary.
Florida seems to be the place for epic campaign collapses (see: Guiliani, Rudolph, 2008). It is rapidly growing evident that we are in the midst of another historic campaign implosion.