Just found this in one of the local FL papers:
UPDATED: It appears that Bud Chiles' days as a candidate for governor are numbered. We are hearing considerable Buzz that Chiles is calling supporters to tell them he is ending his independent bid. An announcement is likely to come in the next two days.
Democrat Alex Sink had lunch with Chiles on Tuesday in Miami but declined to discuss the conversation.
The timing of his expected announcement is not coincidental -- Thursday is the last day before overseas ballots begin printing. Chiles name -- the same as popular former Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles -- was expected to pull votes from Sink in her battle against Republican Rick Scott.
Whole Article Here
Chiles seems to have been smart enough to realized that his campaign just wasn't going to take fire and that he would be, at best, a spoiler. I think early on he might have had an outside chance, but with Sink consolidating the Dem vote, there was really no room for him and his numbers were only going to go down.
I'm not sure that this will have a huge effect at the end of the day. He would have taken some from Sink as his father was one of the most well-regarded Democratic politicians in the state but he might also have given an outlet for GOP voters who came to vote for other races and didn't want to vote for Scott. I think he probably would have taken more votes from Sink that Scott, but I just don't think the number would have been big either way. But as this race may well be close, he could have made the difference for Scott, so him getting out will be spun as good news for Sink and an extra kick of momentum for her going into Labor Day can't be a bad thing.
This has been such a wild year in FL - for a political junkie like me, it's just like reading an especially great novel. I don't think this will have any effect on the Senate race, though. Crist is not about to drop out and neither is Meek. They are locked in this 'who blinks' first staring contest with both trying to snag the Dem vote. I have also noticed Crist in the last few days making some moves back to the center/right as well. That shows that he knows he is not going to get the hardcore Dem vote and is trying to hold more of the GOP. I think he's fighting a losing battle, there, but we'll see.
In any case, this is good news for the Dems in FL in a year that hasn't seen a lot of that. Taking the Gov mansion would be huge and prevent massive GOP gerrymandering.