I swear Florida is cursed. Cursed in the way, the Trojans were cursed by the gods and forced to endure ten years of war because of Paris slurping on Helen. Florida slurped on George W. in 2000 and it’s been hell ever since, as if Zeus and Poseidon were just sitting around, like they did in Clash of the Titans, coming up with ways to torment the state. The latest Herculean task facing our state is replacing Mel Martinez in…
First and foremost, Charlie Crist says he won’t appoint himself. 538.com says Crist may end “pulling out his hair” over decision. John Cornyn says Martinez’s resignation “does not change the landscape.” Michael Barone says it should be Jeb Bush. HuffPo speculates Martinez resigned to screw Crist. Red County says it should be Marco Rubio. Susan MacManus is unsure. Kendrick Meek is magnanimous. New York Times suggests Clay Shaw. Not One Red Cent weighs in. Palm Beach Post has quotes from…
From Talking Points Memo: Former Florida state House Speaker Marco Rubio is having a rough time in his campaign for Senate, in which he’s running as an insurgent conservative challenger against moderate Gov. Charlie Crist — but he’s claiming credit for pushing Crist to the right. Crist recently came out against the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court — putting himself to the right of retiring GOP Sen. Mel Martinez, the man that Crist and Rubio are aiming…
The race for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate seat Mel Martinez is not seeking re-election to in 2010 — which pits liberal Florida Governor Charlie Crist against conservative former Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio — is not exactly heating up. But it’s taking shape. There’s good and bad news for the right. The good news is that Rubio is demonstrating he can excite the conservative base of the Republican Party with his call to “take our…
From National Journal: Two Republican sources said today that even as former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio campaigns for retiring GOP Sen. Mel Martinez’s Senate seat, he has been calling around to top Republican donors and activists in the state to discuss the idea of switching from the Senate primary against GOP Gov. Charlie Crist and into the open-seat race for attorney general, where a serious Republican candidate has yet to emerge. Marc Caputo follows up: The National Journal, with…
From the SP Times: We’re not sure Floridians’ hearts will necessarily swell with pride, but our governor is on his way to becoming one of the top campaign money raisers ever. In a lousy economy, Gov. Charlie Crist hauled in $4.3 million for his Republican Senate campaign. For perspective, consider that the average amount raised by Senate candidates through the entire 2008 election cycle was $2.4 million. Or that the old record for a Senate fundraising quarter was $1.7 million…
It is hardly the path to the top of the ticket many envisioned for Marco Rubio just a few years ago. The West Miami lawyer, now 38, had a national profile even before he took the gavel as Florida House speaker in 2006. He held “100 Ideas” forums with the likes of the late Jack Kemp and Newt Gingrich. A Senate president predicted his charisma would ultimately lead him to the Governor’s Mansion and White House. Outgoing Gov. Jeb Bush…