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Charlie Crist won’t run for Florida U.S. Senate seat in 2016
The Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat announces his decision in a Facebook post
TAMPA (CFP) — Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist says he will not seek a U.S. Senate seat from the Sunshine State in 2016, ending media speculation that he might jump into the race.
Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist
“I will not be seeking office in 2016, but I will be working alongside you,” Crist said in a brief Facebook message posted March 16. “Too much is at stake for our beautiful Florida to be on the sidelines.”
The seat is currently held by Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who is expected to announce in April whether he will give it up to seek the Republican presidential nomination. Rubio’s departure would likely trigger a wide-open race in politically competitive Florida.
The decision not to run comes just four months after Crist, running as a Democrat, was narrowly defeated by incumbent Republican Governor Rick Scott.
Crist, 58, was elected governor in 2006 as a Republican. In 2010, he opted to seek a Senate seat, rather than run for re-election. After it was clear he would lose to Rubio in the primary, Crist bolted the GOP and ran unsuccessfully as an independent. He became a Democrat in 2012.
Had Crist run for the Senate, he would have likely faced a battle in the Democratic primary with U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy of Jupiter. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, is also reportedly considering the race.
Poll: Floridians want U.S. Senator Marco Rubio to seek re-election, not White House
A new Mason-Dixon poll finds the Sunshine State evenly divided on a Jeb Bush presidential bid
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CFP) — A majority of Floridians want U.S. Senator Marco Rubio to seek a second term in 2016 rather than running for the Republican presidential nomination, a new poll finds.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio
A Mason-Dixon poll of 625 Florida registered voters found just 15 percent want Rubio to run for president, compared to 57 percent who want him to stay in the Senate and 28 percent undecided.
Among Republicans, the sentiment for Rubio to run for re-election was even higher, at 68 percent. Among Latinos, 30 percent want Rubio to run for president, compared to 56 percent who want him to stay in the Senate.
If elected in 2016, Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, would be the nation’s first Latino president.
Rubio, first elected to the Senate in 2010, has said he will give up his seat in 2016 if he decides to run for president, which would present Democrats with a pick-up opportunity.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
However, the poll found substantially more support for a White House bid by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, with 42 percent saying Bush should run for president and 43 percent saying he shouldn’t, with just 15 percent undecided.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
Bush and Rubio are part of a group of nine Southerners — eight Republicans and one Democrat — considering a White House bid in 2016.
Among the potential Southern GOP candidates are former governors Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Rick Perry of Texas; U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas; and Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.
On the Democratic side, former U.S. Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has already launched an exploratory committee for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination — a race that’s expected to be dominated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former first lady of Arkansas.
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