Gov. Charlie Crist is lagging behind GOP primary challenger Marco Rubio in his bid for the U.S. Senate and may soon abandon the Republican Party to run as an independent:
Two highly placed and independent sources, speaking strictly on background, tell me that Gov. Charlie Crist is preparing to leave the Republican Party and run as an independent in the race for the U.S. Senate.
With Crist trailing Marco Rubio by 18 points in the latest polls, the Crist campaign has been in panic mode, launching attack after attack on the conservative Rubio.
This would be an interesting turn of events, although my guess is that it won’t do much for Crist anyway. Crist polls 18 points behind Rubio and has not been able to regain momentum in the campaign. Rubio’s CPAC speech last week was very well received and has the support of staunch conservatives. The best move for Crist would be to bow out as a Republican candidate and save himself and his party some face.
