With a third presidential bid a real possibility, Vice President Joe Biden turned his attention to the Sunshine State and went to bat on Monday for former Gov. Charlie Crist, the Democratic candidate challenging Gov. Rick Scott in Florida.
Biden, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008, hit the campaign trail for Crist on Monday, when the vice president appeared with the former governor at events in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
In a fundraising email sent out on Monday morning, the notoriously gaffe-prone Biden even insisted Crist was reminiscent of himself since the former governor "speaks from the heart."
Charlie Crist and I have more in common than just our love of the beautiful state of Florida, Biden wrote. Whether it'll help him out politically or not, the man always speaks from his heart. He cares deeply about the people he meets -- he listens to their stories and takes them into account when he's making decisions. His good heart is why I'm proud to join Charlie in Florida today. I know he'll be an incredible fighter for Florida's middle class.
Earlier on Monday, Scott linked Crist to Obamas economic policies. While Obama carried Florida in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, recent polls show the president is now upside down in the Sunshine State.
With a story out from the Wall Street Journal reporting Crist is hesitant to have Obama stump for him in Florida, on Monday Scott looked to link the two on economic issues.
The campaign of Charlie Crist, Floridas Democratic candidate for governor, is now wary of inviting Mr. Obama to publicly appear with him out of concern that it would shift the focus of the race to national issues, according to a person familiar with Mr. Crists campaign strategy, reported Carol Lee and Colleen McCain Nelson from the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
Scott looked to contrast his economic record with Crists and Obamas and called on the president to campaign with his Democratic rival.
Our state is turning around because we have done the exact opposite of Washington, Scott said on Monday. We threw out the Crist-Obama playbook of higher taxes, more debt and more spending. We made government get out of the way of Florida job creators by undoing Charlie Crists tax increases and 15 percent year-after-year tuition hikes on college students. The results of our pro-growth policies are clear businesses have created more than 640,000 new jobs. And even though we have more work to do to get every Florida family working again, I hope President Obama can make a trip to the Sunshine State soon to see the results of our pro-growth policies even if he is not invited on the campaign trail with Charlie Crist.
Biden is not the only potential Democratic presidential candidate to campaign with Crist. So have former U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, Gov. Deval Patrick, D-Mass., and Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
