Rick Scott Plans to Use $25 Million in Early 2014 to Define Charlie Crist

Neal Freeman over at National Review looks at former Gov. Charlie Crists plans to run for governor again in 2014 but this time as a Democrat. Freeman argues Crist is more concerned with running for office than governing but also notes that Gov. Rick Scotts team hopes the former governor emerges as their opponent next year.

Scott tipped his cards a little to Freeman:

When I ask him why hes so confident, Scott, who is on message with metronomic reliability, says, I will have $25 million in the bank by the end of the year and will use it in early 2014 to define my opponent. Sounds like a plan. A war chest of that size will buy a lot of defining, even in an expensive media state like Florida.

Even with that war chest, Freeman believes 2014 will be tough for Scott:

When the typical Floridian looks at Charlie Crist, the polls suggest, he doesnt see a pandering, chameleonic political hack. He sees, more often than not, a nice-guy politician who is responsive to changing voter attitudes. Just as one mans Mede is another mans Persian, so to speak, one mans flip-flopper can be another mans dutiful public servant. Redundantly, Charlie Crist has changed his views on wedge issues -- abortion, immigration, education, gay marriage, and lots of other things. But so have many Floridians. Whats not to like? asks the typical Florida voter.

What the polls suggest to me is that, implausibly, Charlie Crist will be a formidable candidate next year.

The entire article can be read here.