It’s hard to portray yourself as an outsider when you sit in the governor’s mansion in one of the biggest states in the union. But Gov. Charlie Crist did his best yesterday, positioning his decision to run as an independent as an answer to a broken system. And it just might work.
Though polls currently show Marco Rubio with a slight edge, they also show that 35-40% will likely win the race. (Unlike Sen. Joe Lieberman’s 2006 run after losing the Connecticut Democrat primary, the opposition party is not laying down.) Even though some Republican donors are sure to ask for their money back, Crist is a sitting governor through the beginning of next year and Florida is a state with plenty of commercial interests. That math isn’t hard to do.
If Crist wins, the math gets even more fun. Assuming he stays independent, he could become very difficult to topple as long as he maintains support in one third of the electorate. That would make him an anomaly in American politics: a safe incumbent with 35% support.
Jim Eltringham 