Crist Goes on the Attack

Previously, Charlie Crist has said that he would like to avoid personal attacks in his campaign ads.  On September 24th Crist came out with this ad attacking Rubio and Meek.  The ad was circulating before Friday, but had not yet been released by the Crist campaign.  The ad accuses Rubio of using party money and credit cards to fund personal expenses (Florida Republicans say he paid the party back out of his own pocket at a later date).  The ad then turns to Meek, claiming that he steered government contracts to an "indicted developer who then hired Meek's mother and even bought her a Cadillac."

Meek then released the attack ad against him on his own Youtube account before Crist put the ad on the air.  A strange strategy indeed.  Meek then put out a press release calling out Crist.  I think the reasoning for this was to release the ad before Crist could so that Meek could call him out on his "Republican-style smear ad" ahead of time.  Whether this strategy will work or not remains to be seen.  The Meek campaign's press release contained this heated paragraph:

"After 5 months of obscuring his lifelong conservative record as a “no party affiliated” candidate, Crist has been unable to chip away the democratic votes he needs to win while Kendrick has consolidated his base.  Now, the governor is using the most cynical and desperate Republican attacks to stop the bleeding."

Meek's camp is calling out the Republican Party and Crist at the same time.  I think this is his obvious attempt to simultaneously call out Rubio and Crist at the same time as he falls further back in the polls.  This is a risky move by Meek, but I guess when you are down 25 points in the polls you'll try anything.  Meek did not attempt to actually refute the claims leveled in the ad.

A 527 group tied to Crist also came out with an attack on Rubio as being ‘soft’ on illegal immigration.  A letter was mailed around saying that Rubio had voted to allow children of illegal immigrants to get handouts when attending school when he was the Speaker of the House.  However, the aforementioned legislation died in congress.  Rubio needs to be careful; He is walking a fine line to please Tea Party Republicans who believe everyone should speak English and are for very strict immigration laws.  At the same time he must still keep the support of Cuban-Americans who are still very pro-immigration.

Rubio Takes Big Lead in Polls, Crist has Concerns With Ballot

Recent polls suggest that Marco Rubio is widening his lead over Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek.  Rasmussen's poll done on September 14th has Rubio garnering 41 percent of the vote, Charlie Crist with 30 percent of the vote and Kendrick Meek comes in at 21 percent.  Rasmussen's plus-minus rating system also has Rubio leading with a 61 percent approval rating.

Rubio's sudden charge to take an 11.4 percent lead in the polls is probably due to the growing GOP support nationwide.  Since the economy has gone from bad-to-worse under Democrats (unemployment is hovering around 10 percent), support for Democrats is waning.  This is just as true in Florida where the Democratic nominee only has 21 percent in the polls.  Rubio is riding the Tea Party fad to a large lead in the polls.  Independent Charlie Crist has lost a great deal of Republican support since leaving the party.  Florida Republicans are on the attack and claim that he was never a "true conservative".  In my opinion, many Florida voters--liberal and conservative alike--are wary of Crist's independent status.  As a former Republican, many Democrats probably do not trust him to represent their values.  On the other hand, many Republicans consider him a traitor.

Election Projection Poll List

Apparently even the ballot is being made an issue.  Due to Crist's independent status, his name is going to be appearing 9th out of 10 candidates on the ballot.  Crist was quoted as saying, "obviously it's an issue", but than later said, "I don't think that's an issue".  Crist also incorrectly stated that he would be listed 8th on the ballot.  According to studies done about name placement on ballots, there is no evidence that the order of candidates makes any difference.  What will really hurt him is that he has no party ID.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/charlie-crist-listed-9th-on-ballot-for-us-senate/1121783

State Republicans Attack Crist on Spending Habits

Republicans in Florida have made their first major attack on one of the other two candidates in the race: Former Republican governor Crist.  The statement from state Republicans came on Saturday and was based on an audit done by Alston and Bird LLP.  The Republican Party alleges that the audit shows that Crist, former state Republican chairman Jim Greer, and former executive director Delmar Johnson were involved in unnecessary and extravagant spending at the expense of the party. State Senator John Thrasher said Greer and Crist could each owe over a hundred thousand dollars to the party.  Thrasher did not provide any numbers or documents to back the claim, but says the party may sue to get the money back.  All three of the aforementioned former party members have come out and said that the claims are slanderous and a ploy to hurt Crist in the polls.

Most polls show a fairly tight race between Rubio and Crist with Kendrick Meek trailing by several points.  The Republican Party in Florida has publicly dismissed Crist as never being a "true Republican" and Marco Rubio was quoted as saying the race was between a "Republican, a Democrat, and an opportunist."  If these recent accusations are proved to be true (they could just be an exaggerated attack), the remaining Republican support Crist has could dwindle.  However, these recent allegations show that the Republican Party is very concerned about Crist's campaign abilities and the possibility that he could get wide support from moderate Republicans, independents, and some Democrats as well.

All Three Candidates Come Out With Positive Ads

All three candidates in the U.S. Senate race in Florida have come out with positive, upbeat ads in the past 2 weeks.  It is a nice change from the constant attack ads often seen in political campaigning.  However I'm sure the negative attack ads could come at anytime.

Marco Rubio's ad came out first on August 25th.  Rubio is the Tea Party favorite in the Florida race and also the leader in the polls.  His ad starts out by describing how his family lost everything in Cuba, but found a better life in America.  He stresses the American Dream and how it still exists.  It ends with the phrase "Reclaim America".  This ad will definitely impress conservatives and people unsatisfied with the Obama administration.
It can be viewed here: Rubio's Ad

On Monday, Charlie Crist unveiled his ad.  His clever ad stresses that he is an independent and will take the best ideas from both parties.  He is in a room with red and blue letters that spell out Democrats and Republicans.  He rearranges the letters as he speaks and by the end, it spells out "Americans" in blue and red letters.  At this point he states, "There is only one party I work for", and you see the large word "Americans"  This ad is definitely an appeal to the independent voters of Florida.
  Click Here to see Crist's Ad

Today, Kendrick Meek, the Democratic long-shot, came out with his ad.  Unlike his two opponents, he specifically notes his party affiliation.  His ad features extremely upbeat music and lists off all the things he stands for that the other two candidates do not.  This included raising the minimum wage, not wanting to privatize Social Security, and being against offshore drilling both before and after the BP oil spill.  He ends by saying "I'm Kendrick Meek and I'm the only one who can approve this message."  This ad is trying to drum up as much Democratic support as possible and an attempt to take back the Democrats who said they will vote for Crist.
Click Here to See Meek's Ad

The ads are all positive right now, but look for that to change if Meek and Crist are still trailing by several points once time winds down before the election.