Gov. Charlie Crist might be in better shape had he promised this a month or two ago:
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist would caucus with Senate Democrats if he wins Florida’s three-way U.S. Senate contest on Tuesday, a close advisor told Washington Wire Friday.
That’s a big “if.” Mr. Crist is trailing Republican candidate Marco Rubio in most polls. But the declaration by Florida trial lawyer John Morgan sheds light on one of the many mysteries in the Bill Clinton-Charlie Crist-Kendrick Meek imbroglio.
“Crist is going to caucus with the Democrats,” Mr. Morgan said. “I don’t think there’s any ifs, ands or buts about it. It would be, in a very tight year, almost like a Democratic pickup in a solid Republican state.”
At this point, seems tough to see it making any impact, even if Crist himself announced it at the top of his lungs. It was obvious to all but the strongest Meek partisans that Crist was going to end up with the Democrats if elected. His entire team at this point is made up of Democrats, and with endorsements from the likes of Henry Waxman Robert Wexler, it was clear which direction he was headed. Still, the governor refused to be explicit about his leanings, given he needed to keep his 30% of Republicans or so to be viable in a three-way race. Yet by refusing to be explicit, he was unable to attract enough Democratic support to vault him to the lead.
Meek's best chance was always that Rubio and Crist nuke each other, much like Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller and beating the crap out of each other in Alaska. That didn't happen. In fact, the worst case possible scenario did -- Crist and Meek beat the shit out of each other, giving Rubio a free pass for most of the race. Crist's best chance was to relegate Meek to also-ran status (like GOPer Maes in the Coloardo governor's race). That didn't happen.
So Plan C for keeping the seat would be for Meek to withdraw and give Crist the chance to consolidate moderates and progressives against Rubio. That won't happen either. With Meek's wife reportedly convinced her husband can still win, he's sticking with this through the bitter end.
So there we are. A big ol' pile of suck.