When Florida Gov. Charlie Crist entered the race for Senate, the Republican National Senatorial Committee immediately rushed out an endorsement (something Cornyn had said he wouldn't do just a week ago).
So on the Crist side we have the Senate Republicans. On the other?
Well, Fox News isn't being subtle about it:
Gov. Crist is a big supporter of President Obama $787 billion stimulus plan, he appeared with the president to sort of tout that plan. Are you going to use that against him?"
Also, some "Fox Facts":
Rubio is young cuban-american conservative.
Rubio has accused crist of betraying core Republican principles.
So now we have Fox, wingnut radio, the Club for Growth, the National Review, and the conservative blogosphere lining up on Rubio's side. In other words, the crazy base versus John Cornyn who wants to win a Senate race for a change. Even Jeb Bush, a Rubio mentor, appears to be abandoning Crist.
A major wild card is the involvement of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Rubio mentor who has deep support among many Florida GOP activists and a frosty relationship with his successor.Bush has given no signal of his future involvement in a primary, but those familiar with his thinking don’t expect him to back Crist.
"Jeb is ultimately a party guy, and I’m sure he wants to see the Florida seat remain Republican," said Navarro. "But I wouldn’t be surprised if he called his top people and told them privately to support Rubio."
It's game on.