The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza reports that Charlie Crist might run for Senate in Florida, which would be a horrible idea:
Yes, Crist did run and win statewide in Florida. As a Republican. In 2006. In the last nine years, Crist has done the following:
Blew a 35-point lead — I am not exaggerating — to a guy named Marco Rubio in the 2010 >Senate Republican primary.
Left the Republican party and ran in the general election as an independent. He came in second with 30 percent, 19 points behind Rubio
Became a Democrat, spoke at the 2012 Democratic convention and became the Democratic nominee against Gov. Rick Scott (R) in 2014.
- Lost to Scott, 48.1 percent to 47.1 percent
It is absolutely true then that Crist remains a household name in Florida politics. But unlike five-ish years ago when the Crist brand could rightly be described as "common sense conservatism", Crist now represents for many Floridians exactly what they don’t like in politicians: A conviction-less (and, largely, party-less) person willing to say or do whatever is necessary to win their vote.
Cillizza makes a convincing case for why the opportunistic Crist is a weak candidate. He has plenty of political ambition, but no conviction — as his politically amorphous campaign history demonstrates.
Even worse for Democrats, the rest of their possible Florida candidates are also disastrous. Including their strongest candidate, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has now left the race.
UPDATE: Crist has announced that he will not run for Senate. The Palm Beach Post explains that without Crist and Wasserman Schultz, Florida Democrats are left with two rookies who have never campaigned across the entire state:
So Crist’s announcement late Monday that he won’t be a candidate for any office in 2016 means Florida Democrats probably won’t field a candidate with experience running statewide in next year’s U.S. Senate race.
The Washington Post identifies the two likely candidates, one incredibly young and the other incredibly controversial:
Many Democrats expect Murphy, 31, to soon announce a campaign for the seat held by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). … But Murphy may not have a clear primary field. Outspoken liberal Rep. Alan Grayson told The Post that Wasserman Schultz’s decision made it more likely that he will enter the contest. Grayson, who has a tendency to stoke controversy with his remarks, could be a factor given his sizable national fundraising base.
The news in Florida keeps getting worse for Democrats.