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Politics

Political Bits and Pieces

August 2, 2010 - 6:00pm

While Democrats are continuing to defect to independent U.S. Senate candidate Gov. Charlie Crist, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is not one of them. Nelson said in an MSNBC interview Tuesday morning that he would back the Democratic nominee in the race, be it U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek or billionaire financier Jeff Greene

Meek is trying to play up his backing from President Barack Obama, even though a recent fund-raiser in Washington, hosted by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, brought the Meek campaign only $50,000. Meek will be celebrating the presidents birthday at an event in Jacksonville with Organizing for America on Friday. Trailing Greene in the money stakes and now behind the billionaire in some polls, it is increasingly appearing that the Meek campaign thinks unleashing Obama on the campaign trail is the best --perhaps the only --way to salvage his candidacy. But it also appears that the needed help from the White House is not forthcoming National conservative pundits are increasingly recognizing that Crist is not fading away in the race. W. James Antle of the American Spectator magazine wrote an article comparing Crist to U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent candidate who became the de facto Republican nominee back in 2006. Antle argues that Crist is in the same position but as the de facto Democratic nominee in the race

With the first family visiting the Gulf region of Florida next weekend, the White House is dispatching a familiar faceto the Panhandle later this week. Carol Browner, who once headed up the Florida DEP, will be in Pensacola, Panama City and Tampa Bay meeting with local and state officials on the oil spill in the Gulf As the Legislature meets again in September to deal with the economic damage of the oil spill, Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, has been out front in defending the necessity of convening then, instead of during, the special session that Crist called back in July. Adkins defended the September session last week in a column in the Florida Times Union and in updates released from her office to her constituents

Attorney General Bill McCollum, looking to catch health-care executive Rick Scott in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, hit Daytona Beach and Valrico on Tuesday The campaign trail takes independent gubernatorial candidate Bud Chiles to Gainesville on Wednesday where he will be touring energy-efficient homes. Chiles has made renewable and alternative energies one of the cornerstones of his campaign. In the two months on the campaign trail, Chiles has polled in the teens, far behind the Democratic and Republican candidates in the race, but not fading away either Brian Moore may be an underdog in his challenge to state CFO Alex Sink for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, but he is going all out in his bid to knock her off. Moore is stumping across the state with appearances scheduled this week in South Venice Beach, Titusville, Melbourne, Haines City, Orlando and Alachua County

Dr. Rudy Moise, running against a crowd of politicians for the Democratic nomination to replace Kendrick Meek, unveiled a new commercial featuring the endorsement of Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober. The Moise campaign also released a new video featuring local hip-hop artists backing the congressional candidate. The likes of Black DaDa, T-Drop, DJ Epps and DJ Mixx are backing Moise -- andcampaign members hope it will lure young voters away from a host of veteran politicians in the race While professional wrestling icons such as Jesse Ventura and Bob Backlund have run for office with various degrees of success in other states, Florida has a former wrestler running for office with a bit more experience. Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair is running for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa. Blair has his work cut out for him because he is running against three candidates in the Republican primary. Blair is probably best remembered by wrestling fans as one of the high-flying Killer Bees, a tag-team that did well in the World Wrestling Federation in the late 1980s, but never quite won the world title.

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.

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