Gov. Charlie Crist speaks opens his first Florida Summit on Global Climate Change at the Miami InterContinental Hotel in July 2007. | Post photo

This story was printed Aug. 12 on page 1A of The Palm Beach Post.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist’s plans for a third high-profile climate summit have been indefinitely postponed as the Republican weighs the political cost of the event’s expensive price tag.

But Crist’s reluctance to appear out of touch with financially frustrated Floridians — and perhaps his party’s conservative base — has not stopped him from asking the event’s sponsors to help fund his U.S. Senate campaign.

Campaign finance reports show Crist has collected $106,500 from individuals and companies tied to past sponsors of his climate summits. That total is 40 percent of the costs of his 2006 summit and nearly 20 percent of the expenses of last year’s event.

Postponing the summit has also raised questions about whether Crist, who is facing an aggressive primary challenge and a restless base in the state GOP, is backing away from the environmental issues that marked his first two years in office.

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Negron has spent $118,267 so far, according to reports filed Friday night.

Democrat Bill Ramos has raised a total of $25,828, which includes $5,500 from the Florida Democratic Party and $1,000 from Martin County’s Democratic Executive Committee. He has spent $11,896.

Negron and Ramos are on the ballot to replace retiring state Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, in a Treasure Coast-Palm Beach County district.

Write-in candidate Josue Larose, who according to voter records is a 28-year-old Deerfield Beach resident, reported that he put $50,000 of his own money into his campaign this week as an in-kind contribution for “paying the advertising.”

Larose apparently enjoys being a longshot. In addition to his write-in bid for the Senate seat, he has opened a 2010 campaign for governor.