Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek denied on Thursday a Washington, D.C. newspaper report that he had agreed to drop out of the race and endorse independent Gov. Charlie Crist, but those conversations did happen, Crist asserted on national television Thursday night.
As a new poll showed Meek slipping further behind Crist and Republican Marco Rubio, Politico reported Thursday evening that Meek earlier this month had said he would drop out of the race at the urging of former President Bill Clinton. But Meek, who has been close to Clinton since he drove him around when the former president visited Florida ahead of his 1992 campaign, said "the article is not true."
"Kendrick Meek was never dropping out of this race, is never dropping out of this race, and will never drop out of this race," his campaign said in a hastily released statement Thursday evening. "Kendrick Meek will always stand up for the middle class and will not leave Floridians a choice between two lifelong conservative Republicans who only stand with the special interests. Kendrick is the Democratic nominee so if anyone should drop out, it's Charlie Crist."
However, the governor, who has competed strongly with Meek for traditionally Democratic voters since leaving the GOP in April, said during an interview with MSNBC host Keith Olbermann that he had known of the negotiations between Clinton and Meek.
"Those discussions did occur, I can tell you that much," Crist said on Olbermanns show. Rubio, he said, represented "radical right wing Republicanism that the former president doesn't support, and common-sense Democrats, Republicans and independents don't support."
Asked how he was privy to negotiations between Meek and the former president, Crist said " I had numerous phone calls with people very close to President Clinton."
Crist said he did not think Meek would drop out of the race now, and even if he did, his name would still appear on the ballot -- and many voters have already cast ballots by mail and absentee. But for those who have not voted yet, Crist said "I think it's very clear that if (voters) want someone who is not for overturning Roe vs, Wade, is not against stem cell research there is one choice."
A new Quinnipiac University poll showed Crist appearing to draw more support away from Meek to gain ground on the front-running Rubio. However, Crist still trailed Rubio 42 to 35 percent, even as Meek dropped from 22 percent in Quinnipiac's Oct. 11 poll to 15 percent in the university's survey of 784 likely Florida voters released Thursday.
Throughout the bruising campaign, Meek, who has not placed above third place in many major polls, has shown his contempt for Crist's conversions to his party's positions on many issues as the two have fought over traditionally Democratic voters. In the final debate between the Senate candidates earlier this week, he said the governors positions bothered him.
When I hear flip-flops in the hallway, I think it's the governor walking down the hall," Meek said Tuesday night in a debate.
Meek said in the debate that while he disagrees often with Rubio, he does not doubt the sincerity of his beliefs, unlike Crist, who Meek said in a previous debate stands on a wet paper box as it relates to the issues.
Rubios campaign used the Politico report to bash Crist, ignoring Meek altogether in a statement from Rubio spokesman Todd Harris.
"Charlie Crist truly will say and do anything to get elected and hold on to power, Harris said. Secret deals to trade away principles for power is already the problem in Washington, its not the solution. This is simply politics-as-usual which is exactly what voters across the country are emphatically rejecting this election."
Clinton has repeatedly campaigned in Florida for Meek, who endorsed now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over President Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primaries. Throughout the campaign, rumors persisted that Obama and other national Democrats preferred Crist over Meek as a challenger to the surging Rubio.
Meek frequently used Clintons visits to dismiss the whispers.
