Welcomes Former NY Billionare to Sunshine State
Florida Governor Charlie Crist is working his rolodex and learning the stark realities of the differences between state and federal campaign finance laws. Crist is calling his best donors and fundraisers, people who heretofore have bundled hundreds of thousands of dollars in state contributions for him.
What the Governor is coming away with are meager commitments of $4,800 per individual ($2,400 for the primary and $2,400 for the general election) with couples thus able to give $9600. While most of Crist’s supporters agreed to hustle a few checks, reaching the $15 million the Governor will need to fend off primary challenger Marco Rubio will be difficult at this clip.
Crist is expected to post an “eye-popping” fundraising number for the first month of his Senate bid, but he’s really just grabbing low hanging fruit.
Billionaire and former New York Gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano recently established legal residency in Naples. The first call Golisano received afterward was from Charlie Crist, who wanted to cordially welcome him to the Sunshine State and ask for his support. The founder of New York’s Independence Party, Golisano coordinated last week’s GOP coup in the New York State Senate.
With the backing of the Republican establishment, Crist has to be considered the favorite in the primary. Polls show he has a big lead, but victory is not guaranteed. If primary turnout is light, and the Governor’s campaign is underfunded, an increasingly engaged Jeb Bush could drag Rubio over the finish line with a late endorsement and statewide barnstorming, in which he mobilizes his popularity among conservatives for the former State House Speaker.
Rubio has already fortified his position as the conservative in the race and recently won the endorsement of ultra-conservative Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).
On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown recently announced that she is forming a Senate exploratory committee. If Brown does in fact run, she will face off against current frontrunner U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek. With State Senator Dan Gelber out, the Democratic contest lacks a white or a Hispanic candidate.
Business leaders and friends are urging former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, who is Puerto Rican, to enter the race. Ferre, 73, remains fit and vigorous and is running several successful South American trade businesses. Ferre was considered a visionary mayor of the City of Miami, which elected him to six terms. Ferre served in the State House and as a Miami Dade County Commissioner.
There will be no shortage of Democratic and Labor money for the Democratic candidate who can tag Crist with walking out on his pledge to lower property taxes and insurance rates.
1 Comments until now.
Charlie Crist is the consummate politician without any basic principles other than self promotion. He wants to leave the state for a non-term-limited political position in Washington before a hurricane hits here and bankrupts our state. His Citizens Insurance Co. has left the taxpayers instead of the solid big insurors to pay claims. He did that to reduce premiums and get elected governor. He’ll do anything to advance his political ambitions.
Our alternative is a good one: Marco Rubio has demonstrated his abilities in the legislature as Speaker and he is a principled family man. Crist is none of the above.
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