Rasmussen survey finds Rubio leads Crist by 12 points

Former Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio spoke at the Duval Republican Women's meeting in Jacksonville. He packed the house.Former Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio leads Gov. Charlie Crist by 12 points among likely GOP Primary voters in the race to determine who will oppose a Democrat for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Mel Martinez. Rasmussen Reports said, "A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely GOP Primary voters in the state finds Rubio leading Crist 49% to 37%. Three percent (3%) prefer another candidate, and 11% are undecided."

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On Florida health insurance boondoggle, McCollum gets it right

Attorney General Bill McCollum was the only state official who took a conservative fiscal approach to the issue of free health insurance for approximately 27,479 Florida state employees.The U.S. Census Bureau counted 171,555 fulltime state employees in Florida in 2008, and The Miami Herald disclosed that among those, approximately 27,479 get a big perk. They pay no premiums for health insurance. Of those 27,479, approximately 2,431 are in the $100k plus salary range. A number of officials were quoted in the story about health insurance for state employees, but only one official quoted by the paper demonstrated fiscal conservatism—Attorney General Bill McCollum.

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Roger Stone sizes up the Crist-Rubio race; GOP base disgruntled

Veteran analyst Roger Stone writes a column about politics of the day.
In a July 29th column at The Stone Zone, political analyst Roger Stone sizes up the Crist-Rubio duel for the Republican primary. The winner will then face a Democrat vying for retiring Republican senator Mel Martinez’s seat. In his clinical post, the veteran analyst’s conclusions are spot on. I’ve interviewed Stone—there is no more interesting perspective in politics today than you get from this guy. He talks staccato style and has this incredible recall—he’s a living anthology of political history past and present.

Stone sees an Achilles heel for Florida's popular governor and he points to "the little Frenchman." 

 “Governor Charlie Crist's former Chief of Staff George LeMieux has made millions since leaving state government. Now LeMieux's business dealings are likely to become the focus of Democratic attacks on U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Crist.” Stone adds, “[T]allahassee State's Attorney Willie Meggs is getting access to the GOP party records in the House Speaker Ray Sansom investigation.”

No one knows what will come of that, but with elections looming, you can betcha’, as a well-known governor likes to say, the press will sensationalize anything that’s found, especially for a Republican candidate.

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Crist, Rubio and Thorpe heat up GOP battle for US Senate seat

Former Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio (right) talks with Aaron Bean (left) in Jacksonville May 14. [photo by Kay B. Day]The race for retiring Republican Mel Martinez’s US Senate seat could not be more complicated. Start with Gov. Charlie Crist. He’s crafted a brand as politico of all persuasions. Shortly after his announcement, Crist picked up widely touted endorsements. At the moment, the Republican Party of Florida website looks like a Crist fan club.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, endorsed Crist right off the bat. State GOP Party chair Jim Greer basically endorsed him without officially endorsing him. Here’s a summary of the statement Greer gave to Congressional Quarterly: “State Republican Chairman Jim Greer said yesterday that if the state party deems it appropriate to make an endorsement in the Senate primary, it will be for Crist. Greer noted that Crist would be due that deference because he is the sitting governor.”

Before Crist declared his intentions, Dr. Marion Thorpe declared his candidacy for the Senate seat. Former Speaker of the House Marco Rubio also declared before Crist. And therein are the makings of a true political spectacle, because these candidates are charismatic and they are all Republicans.

Ironically, Crist entering the race creates more risk for the GOP. He’d probably win re-election as governor with little trouble.

Florida fireworks begin
Rubio spoke in Jacksonville on Thursday to the Republican Women’s Club of Duval Federated. That influential club is among the constituencies infuriated with the state party at the moment. What set the club off—snap endorsements for candidate Crist in a race where there is no incumbent.

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