A day before unconfirmed reports surfaced that Gov. Charlie Crist will bow out of the U.S. Senate race and let George LeMieux and Marco Rubio duke it out for the Republican nomination, Crist considered one of his defining acts as chief executive of Florida.
Losing his political clout amid sinking polls, a beleaguered Crist did the calculus.
- Sign Senate Bill 6 and stay behind Rubio in the GOP primary contest, or:
- Veto the politically radioactive measure and set the stage for an independent run that could win moderate and Democratic votes in a general election.
Basing his calculation on politics, not necessarily on the educational merits, Crist vetoed the teacher pay bill to the surprise of almost no one in Tallahassee.
Coincidence or not, a Quinnipiac University poll released the day of the veto showed an independent Crist edging Rubio in a three-way race with Democrat Kendrick Meek this fall. A previous Rasmussen survey showed Crist, standing at a record low 28 percent, trailing Rubio by nearly 30 points in the GOP primary.
Crist campaign manager Eric Eikenberg did not immediately return a phone call or e-mail from Sunshine State News seeking comment on his intentions.
Crist's decision to buck the Florida Republican Party -- an organization that he nominally heads as governor -- appears to foreshadow a plan to bolt the party or to call it quits this year. These are almost unprecedented moves, but then so is his precipitous plummet in the polls.
Crist has been able to maintain a semblance of political influence by virtue of the fact that he can still reward or punish lawmakers with his governor's pen.
But even that's not holding. Just days after reiterating his support for Crist's Senate run, Rep. Dean Cannon withdrew that endorsement. The Winter Park Republican, who takes over as House speaker next year, has pledged to resurrect the education-reform measure in 2011.
Rep. John Tobia, R-Melbourne, also withdrew his backing of Crist.
Endorsements of Rubio and defections from Crist are accelerating in the wake of the SB 6 veto. Those moves come as GOP legislative leaders roundly condemned Crist, stirring a pot of partisan discontent that's been simmering since the governor hugged President Barack Obama last year and embraced the Democratic administration's stimulus package.
Hours after the SB 6 veto, Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, said, It is unfortunate that the governor has endorsed the politics of misinformation."
Legg, a teacher and chairman of the House PreK-12 Policy Committee, sponsored SB 6's companion House bill.
Rep. Seth McKeel, the deputy majority leader from Lakeland, was one of the latest lawmakers to jump on the Rubio bandwagon.
More significantly, former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack resigned as Crist's campaign chairman Thursday. Mack cited Crist's veto as the reason for his departure, calling it "unsupportable and wrong."
LeMieux, a longtime Crist protege whom the governor installed last year to fill out the remainder of Mel Martinez's expiring seat, downplayed any connection between the SB 6 veto and Crist's intentions.
"I think he thoughtfully reviewed (the bill) and made the decision based on what he thought was best. Obviously he had a different view I thought he should have signed the bill," he told Politico.com.
As for an independent bid by Crist, LeMieux predicted, "Hes going to be a Republican candidate for the United States Senate."
LeMieux just didn't say what year.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., comes up for re-election in 2012.
A call to LeMieux's office for comment on his intentions was not immediately returned.
Asked about Crist possibly dropping out of the race, state Republican Party spokeswoman Katie Gordon Betta said only that the RPOF "had not heard that rumor."
Former RPOF Chairman Al Cardenas, a Crist supporter, said, "I don't believe that is going to happen."
Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos said, "There are a lot of rumors circulating that only Charlie Crist can put to rest.Until then, our primary opponent is still Charlie Crist.
"Regardless of what he decides, Charlie Crists record of supporting wasteful stimulus spending, tax increases, liberal judges and a national energy tax program will still make him unreliable to go to Washington and stand up to President Obamas agenda."
Meantime, Crist was admonished by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the very group that recruited him to run last year.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, NRSC chairman, vowed that the group would work to defeat Crist if he went independent.
"I would think that would be the end of his political career as a Republican," Cornyn said.
--
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
