http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/... Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Florida, said Thursday that a rumored independent bid by Florida's Republican governor could actually benefit him in a three-way general election race.
Once considered the favorite, Gov. Charlie Crist has found himself lagging behind former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio by more than 20 percentage points in the latest polling of Florida's Republican primary. Meek, by comparison, has had no real competition for the Democratic nod, and thus has been largely absent from the media coverage.
"[If] [t]he governor makes a decision that he's going to run as an independent, automatically, I become a factor in this race," Meek said in an interview on John King, USA. "There will no longer be debates with just the two of them. I would be invited as another major candidate in the race. So to say that it will just be a two way battle, that it will continue, it will turn into a three way battle."
A recent Quinnipiac University poll indicates Crist would grab 32 percent of the vote if he runs as an independent in November, with Rubio at 30 percent and Meek at 24 percent. Crist has until the end of April to declare if he is going to leave the Republican primary and run as an independent.
Meek told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King that he can win over voters across the political spectrum even if Crist runs as an independent.
"I think a lot of Democratic voters are going to get to know me more, a lot of independent voters, some - even some Republican voters," Meek said. "I think a lot of people are turned off about the discourse that has been going on in the primary. We've been consistent all through this race - my campaign has been. And we feel that our grassroots effort, qualifying by petition, running toward major issues that are facing Florida, giving straight answers, is going to help us in the long run."
Posted By: Kendrick Meek
Friday, April 23rd 2010 at 7:21PM
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