FLSen: Rubio continues to lead Crist

After Florida Governor Charlie Crist ascertained that he could not win a Republican primary election against conservative Marco Rubio, he quit the GOP and announced he would be running for the US Senate as an independent. In April he led Rubio in a three way race by five percentage points. Last week Rasmussen found that the former Florida House Speaker had a five point lead over Crist, Mason-Dixon has Rubio leading by six.

To win, Crist needs to attract Democratic votes. But there will be a Democratic nominee of course, who of course won't roll over and play dead for the ex-Republican.

From the Sun-Sentinel:

Crist's fate depends on whether he attracts large numbers of Democratic voters in the general election, the poll found. The results indicate that Meek is gaining support among Democrats, which could draw votes away from Crist and give Rubio an advantage.

"Given the fact that he [Crist] has largely burned his bridges with Republicans and is drawing less than half of the state's unaffiliated voters, even a 10 percent drop in Democratic support would pull his current vote under 30 percent — a level that would make the race unwinnable," said Brad Coker, managing director of the poll.

Some voters were turned off by Crist's decision in April to leave the Republican Party — polls then showed he was trailing Rubio by more than 20 percentage points in the GOP primary — and run as an independent while shifting his views on key issues.

"He's basically out there for himself to promote his own career," said Anne Rhue, 74, of Longwood, who took part in the poll. "He [Crist] wasn't getting what he wanted from Republicans, so he went on his own."

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