Charie Crist appears to be headed south for the winter, and we don’t mean Miami. The Florida governor was enjoying a lead of as much as 29 points in some polls as recently as mid-August, but by the third week of October his advantage had been cut in half. Now the moderate Republican finds himself deadlocked in his battle against Marco Rubio in the GOP primary for a U.S. Senate seat. A new Rasmussen survey commissioned by Tampa Bay television station Fox 13 shows Crist and Rubio tied at 43 percent, with 14 percent undecided.

Rubio, who served as Speaker of Florida’s House of Representatives for the 2006-2008 term, is a conservative with some libertarian values who has advocated reducing property taxes and decreasing the size of government in the Sunshine State. Just 38 years old, Rubio wasn’t given much of a chance by pundits when he announced in May his intentions to run for the U.S. States Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. Now the experts are having to check their political calculus.

What explains this turn of events in Florida? At the same time that Rubio has gained traction with his conservative principles, Crist has angered many Republicans with his support of President Obama and the Democrat’s $787 billion stimulus package. In February, the governor had touted the stimulus, boasting:

“We can spend more money on our roads and infrastructure, we can provide health care for our people. It’s remarkable!”

Now Crist insists that he did not embrace the stimulus bill, a denial that analysts say has only made the moderate Republican’s situation worse. The governor at one time enjoyed a favorability rating in the high 70s, but no more. His numbers have fallen in concert with those of the president, who is experiencing his lowest approval since the 2008 election. Rubio has shrewdly focused on Crist’s coziness with Obama and has used some of his opponent’s public statements against him.

Spring training is still some months away and the baseball season even further ahead, but Marco Rubio seems to have become a power hitter in the Florida Political League, and he already has the game tied and the bases loaded with no outs. For his part, Crist appears all too much to be the pitcher who has thrown his best stuff, is hurting from a sore throwing arm and can’t even take himself out of the game. It’s starting to get very lonely out there on the mound.

- JP

4 Responses to “It’s a tough inning for Crist, and there’s nobody out”