Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek will bring his campaign to Boynton Beach on Friday as he make a push to become the first U.S. Senate candidate to qualify for the ballot by petition.

He’ll be at St. John Missionary Baptist Church at 10:45 a.m.

U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, has returned $9,000 in donations from former House Ways & Means Chairman Charlie Rangel after Rangel was forced to give up the powerful spot after questions the belated disclosure of hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously unlisted wealth.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee took the opportunity to note Democrats have returned $378,000 of Rangel’s money, but U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, “continues to hang onto the $5,500 from his ethically-challenged contributor.” Those donations were to Meek’s previous U.S. House campaigns.

1. No, Gov. Charlie Crist is not giving up his Republican registration. But it’s pretty clear now that he’s decided to promote the independent streak that won him national attention as he built a bipartisan image his first year in office.

2. Speaking of Crist’s first year: With his final State of the State coming on Tuesday, here’s a timely look-back at our coverage of his 2007 speech, when he called for more environmental preservation and a voting paper trail and included a quote from Robert Kennedy:

“For him to get up there and do what he did today, he said: ‘I’m my own man,’ that was a strong message,” said Sen. Victor Crist, R-Temple Terrace, who is not related to the governor. “When he gave his final quote from Robert Kennedy, that was bold, and I watched Speaker Rubio’s face, and I turned to the two House members on either side of me, and I said, ‘Oh-oh.’ “

House Speaker Marco Rubio said Crist’s style has helped improve the tone in Tallahassee. “By far the most optimistic first day of session in the eight I’ve been a part of,” said Rubio, R-West Miami. “I think there is a general tone of cooperation.”

3. By portraying himself as an independent Republican (someone who loves guns, hates taxes and can work across the aisle), Crist is hoping to steal some of the sizzle of Rubio’s image as the anti-establishment candidate. In Broward County, Crist tried to use Rubio’s campaign against him:

(more…)

It’s no secret that the Florida U.S. Senate race has captured the attention of the national media and is a crucial race for both parties.

But much of the focus has been on the GOP primary featuring Gov. Charlie Crist, who is leaving office after only one term to pursue the post, and former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the first Cuban-American speaker of the Florida House whose somber face ran on the cover of The New York Times Sunday magazine not long ago, prompting Crist’s campaign to dub him “New York Times Cover Boy.”

While Rubio and Crist slug it out (and it’s getting uglier every day), U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the Democrat who will likely face off against one of them in November, has been busily stumping around the state gathering petition signatures in the hopes of becoming the first U.S. Senate candidate from Florida ever to qualify by petition.

Read today’s New York Times article on Meek here.

A proposal from President Obama to repeal a ban on gays serving openly in the military — better known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” — has split Florida’s U.S. Senate candidates along party lines.

“We are a nation at war. The governor believes the current policy has worked, and there is no need to make changes.”

–Republican Charlie Crist spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg.

“Marco Rubio supports the current policy and doesn’t see any evidence it needs to be changed.”

–Republican Marco Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos.

“Before the Civil Rights Bill passed, Everett Dirksen told Lyndon Johnson that, ‘This is an idea whose time has come.’ Well this is also an idea whose time has arrived.”

–Democrat Maurice Ferre

“Admiral Mike Mullen’s testimony that repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell comes down to an issue of integrity for citizens in uniform, and for the military as an institution were powerful words of conviction and truth. As a congressional cosponsor of legislation to promote a policy of nondiscrimination in the Armed Forces on the basis of sexual orientation, and having spoken to senior commanders about this issue, the position voiced by the military is a welcome one.”

–Democrat Kendrick Meek

Kendick Meek’s Senate campaign today flatly rejected our question about whether they might have second thoughts about stumping with President Obama after his efforts in the Massachusetts Senate race came up short.

Meanwhile, Meek’s camp suggested the possibility that Meek could be cast in the Scott Brown role if the same scenario plays out in Florida. The logic: Brown was laying much his groundwork while Mass. Dems were locked in a divisive primary. In Florida’s Senate race, that bloodshed is on the Republican side of the campaign.

“We saw last night that there is a strong national mood for change across the country,” said Meek campaign manager Abe Dyk. “Having worked as a skycap for tips, as a Florida State Trooper and having led the Coalition to Reduce Class Size, Kendrick Meek is the candidate best positioned to deliver that change as a U.S. Senator.”

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek held a roundtable with the Capitol press corps this morning and came out swinging at Gov. Charlie Crist.

Meek, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, slammed Crist, a Republican who’s losing traction in a GOP primary against former House Speaker Marco Rubio, for his turn-around on abortion and his failed health care program that has been ignored by uninsured Floridians.

“Overall I think the governor’s a very nice person,” Meek, a former state legislator who is in his fourth term in Congress, began. “I don’t think he’s prepared to lead this state in the United States Senate. One, he doesn’t like to make a decision. Two, he’s very vague. And three, I believe he’s more politician than leader.”

(more…)

Gov. Charlie Crist and former House Speaker Marco Rubio are in a dead heat in the GOP race for the U.S. Senate, according to a poll released this morning.

The Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found Crist and Rubio in a 43-43 percent tie among likely Republican primary voters.

Crist’s lead over Rubio dropped 10 percent in the same poll since August. And the governor’s popularity is at an all-time low, with just 19 percent of respondents having a “very favorable” opinion of him.

Earlier this year, Rubio, the first Cuban-American House Speaker, was considered a long-shot in the race.

But conservative support - including the endorsement of The Club for Growth and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina - has rallied Rubio’s campaign and drawn national attention to the Florida primary, viewed as a test of the rising “Tea Party” movement and characterizing the fight for the control of the party between moderates and conservatives.

Crist and other GOP leaders have angered Republican conservative base voters who typically show up at the polls to vote in primaries.

This summer, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer - hand-picked by Crist - snubbed Rubio by endorsing Crist and discouraging primaries that he said weaken the party’s ability to win in the general election.

Crist alienated conservatives by applauding President Barack Obama’s stimulus package symbolized by the now-infamous “man-hug” with the Democratic president.

And he raised eyebrows in August when he appointed his longtime advisor and right-hand-man George LeMieux to replace U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, who retired before his term ended.

The winner of next year’s primary is likely to face off against Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, who is gathering petition signatures to get onto the ballot.

President Obama tonight ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops to be deployed in Afghanistan and pledged to begin withdrawing forces in 18 months.

The president delivered a prime-time speech from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Some Florida reactions after the jump…..

(more…)

Politico highlighted it as their photo of the day on Tuesday, and we’ve got a sneaking suspicion that it will show up again on literature from Kendrick Meek’s U.S. Senate campaign.

It’s not quite the big embrace that’s gotten Republican Gov. Charlie Crist in so much hot water, but as one insider joked, maybe that’s what these two were laughing about.

MIAMI — Air Force One just landed here as President Obama prepares to attend a fund-raiser in Miami Beach for Democratic Senate and House candidates.

Obama stepped off the plane about 5:30 p.m. with Sen. Bill Nelson and greeted a passel of Democratic elected officials on the tarmac at Miami International Airport: Chief Financial Officer and gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink; U.S. Rep. and Democratic Senate frontrunner Kendrick Meek of Miami; U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston; Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and state Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach.

Obama is to attend a fund-raiser at the Fountainebleu Hotel, then go to a solar energy plant in DeSoto County on Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, reportedly removed his name from the list of cosponsors on a single-payer healthcare bill and another that calls for a review and renegotiation of U.S. trade agreements.

From The Hill:

The decision to remove himself as cosponsor of the two bills suggests that Meek is moving to the political center. Meek is the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination for former Sen. Mel Martinez’s (R-Fla.) old seat after Rep. Corrine Brown announced she would not challenge Meek for the Democratic nomination.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D- Miami, today picked up Senate endorsements from Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and U.S. Rep. Corinne Brown, D-Jacksonville, who had been exploring her own run for Senate.

Sink, a 2010 candidate for governor, is one of two Dems to hold statewide office in Florida. The other — U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson — hasn’t formally endorsed Meek, but was listed as a host for a Meek fund-raiser in Washington this month that was headlined by former President Bill Clinton.

Meek is the heavy favorite to win the Democratic Senate nomination, but former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre announced this month that he will also run as a Democrat.

As noted Wednesday morning, Quinnipiac University’s latest Florida poll finds former House Speaker Marco Rubio narrowing the gap from 29 points in August to 15 points now in his Republican U.S. Senate primary race against Gov. Charlie Crist.

That poll found Crist with a comfortable lead in a hypothetical Senate matchup against Democratic frontrunner Kendrick Meek, but found Meek with a narrow lead in a Meek-Rubio matchup.

A Rasmussen poll of Florida voters released later in the day finds Crist with 14 point lead over Rubio in a GOP primary, down from 22 points in August.

Rasmussen has Crist leading Meek by 12 points (compared to 20 points in the Quinnipiac poll). And while Quinnipiac gives Meek a 36-to-32 percent lead over Rubio, Rasmussen finds Rubio beating Meek, 46-to-31 percent.

Florida candidates and political parties are making a mad scramble to collect small donations before a midnight deadline for third quarter campaign finance reports.

The Florida Democratic Party says if you donate $20 or more before tomorrow, you’ll have a chance to win a free night at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club during the party’s state conference next month.

That got us wondering - what are other pols promising for your money?

(more…)

Carole Crist, Gov. Charlie Crist’s new bride, has made her first foray into Florida politics. The New York socialite is featured in a campaign mailer asking for donations for the governor’s U.S. Senate campaign, the Associated Press reports. Candidates are facing a fundraising deadline today and along with his wife, Crist’s parents and former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack have asked for money this week on Crist’s behalf.

Also, if you’re interested in the role that Mrs. Crist is playing - or not playing - as Florida’s First Lady, check out this recent story from the Times/Herald.

Meanwhile, the candidate himself spent about an hour this morning making the rounds on the three major cable news networks (see the clips after the jump).

Crist was asked about the same things in each interview: his prediction that President Obama could serve only one term and that a struggling health care program in Florida should serve as a national model.

He held firm on his prediction that Obama could be the new Jimmy Carter, wondering if voters were having “buyer’s remorse.” He also continued to promote his health care plan, Cover Florida, which offers bare bone coverage and this year signed up just over 4,000 of the roughly 4 million Floridians without insurance.

Crist’s appearances provoked reactions from the two men hoping to knock him out of the U.S. Senate race: Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek.

(more…)

Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta: “Tonight I hoped to hear that the President has been listening to the American people over the past month. From the town hall meetings I hosted in August it is clear to me that Americans have had enough of the rapid expansion of government especially when it comes to an important issue such as health care. We need a plan that does not punish small businesses and tax individuals. Any type of government takeover of our nation’s health care system is not the answer and is unacceptable.”

Sen. Bill Nelson (D): (Reacting to pre-speech excerpts released by the White House) “I’m glad the president is proposing insurance exchanges that will help the nearly one-in-four Floridians who don’t have or cannot get affordable health insurance. Americans who are satisfied with their coverage should be able to keep what they have. And we ought to make coverage affordable for those who don’t have it.”

Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton:“Like all Americans, I was glad to hear President Obama lay out a path ahead on health care reform. After listening carefully to South Floridians on all sides of this debate, it is clear that we all agree that we must make real changes to improve our health care system, increase competition and lower costs…. The most important thing is that we have a final product that lowers costs, improves the quality of health care and ensures that Americans cannot be denied coverage because they get sick.”

Klein on the public option: “I thought he made a very good case. The reason I support a public option in some form is competition.”

Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton: “The President is absolutely correct that all Americans must have security and stability in their health insurance, and I was pleased to hear him reiterate his support for a public insurance option. I enthusiastically agree with the priorities that President Obama outlined tonight, which include providing affordable and accessible coverage for all Americans, delivering real competition in the market to drive down costs, and helping seniors afford their prescription drugs. Congress is on the cusp of delivering historic change, and tonight President Obama provided the vision and initiative for us to get this done.”

Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate:
“Tonight’s speech was a game-changer. President Obama brought clarity to the health care debate. His objective is straightforward: offering stability and security in our health insurance system to Floridians with insurance and to Floridians who lack insurance…With over 80 percent agreement among various committee proposals, it is now time to pull together all components into a single piece of legislation. With skyrocketing health care costs bankrupting American families and businesses, doing nothing is not an option. In Florida alone, over 3,500 people lose their health coverage each week. We cannot afford to sit by and do nothing.”

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez:“I congratulate George LeMieux for being appointed by the governor to fill the remainder of my term. George is bright, capable, and an accomplished
administrator. My staff and I stand ready to ensure a smooth transition.”

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, who is running against Crist in the GOP primary to replace Martinez: “This is a disappointing pick for Florida. George LeMieux is a talented political operative and the governor’s best friend, but that doesn’t make him the right choice to represent Florida in the Senate. Governor Crist had a wealth of consistent and principled conservative candidates to choose from, all of whom would have been a reliable check and balance on the excesses of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda.”

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate: “Governor Crist was afforded a high responsibility with this appointment. Instead, he treated this process like a mockery, politicizing his selection by flying around the state at taxpayers’ expense, touring major media markets and drawing this selection out. Well respected Floridians with a wealth of elected service experience from Congressman Clay Shaw to Mayor John Delaney to various Hispanic leaders were in a position to hit the ground running if appointed, but that possibility is now nonexistent.”

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer: “Once again, Charlie Crist has demonstrated his commitment to serving Floridians, by appointing George LeMieux who is well qualified, a dedicated public servant, conservative Republican and an excellent choice!”

Progress Florida executive director Mark Ferrulo: “It’s shocking. We wonder why Gov. Crist didn’t just appoint himself if he was going to pick his former chief of staff and campaign ‘maestro’. “The so-called ‘People’s Governor’ has made clear through this appointment that he places personal loyalty and his own political benefit above the interests of Floridians.”

Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican running to replace Crist as governor: “I congratulate George LeMieux on his appointment as Florida’s U.S. Senator. I have known George for a long time, both as a friend and as a former Deputy Attorney General, a capacity in which he served this office
well. I wish him the best in serving the people of Florida in the U.S. Senate.”

Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Hari Sevugan: “With Florida’s economy in shambles, Charlie Crist could have selected a Senator who would be able to hit the ground running in Washington to tackle the problems that face Floridians. In appointing a political crony as a placeholder until he can run for Senate himself, Charlie Crist is using the Governorship to advance his own political ambitions rather than advancing the lives of the Floridians he was elected to serve.”

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a Democrat from Boca Raton: “In short, George LeMieux will make an excellent Senator. I wish him great success and look forward to working with him in any way I can.”

Republican operative and political consultant Mac Stipanovich: “He was not the obvious choice.”

Marion Hammer, former NRA president who now lobbies for the same organization and the Unified Sportsmen of Florida: “The NRA and Unified Sportsmen of Florida are very pleased with Governor Crist’s appointment of George LeMieux as Florida’s new junior U.S. Senator. George is rated ‘A’ by the NRA and will be a strong supporter of the Second Amendment in the U.S. Senate. Gun owners can count on George LeMieux to fight to protect freedom and the Second Amendment.”

Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff: “This is just one more example of the Republican leadership in Tallahassee putting cronyism and corruption above the people of our state. From Ray Sansom, to former lobbyist Bill McCollum, to George LeMieux, it is clear that we must stand together and pledge to end the Republican culture of cronyism and corruption in Tallahassee.”

Former U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw, who was a finalist on Crist’s list of possible Martinez replacements and for whom LeMieux once worked as an intern: “George is a very, very capable guy and I’m sure he’ll do a good job. He’s a quick study, he’s articulate, he’s very close to the governor. I think it’s a good choice.”

State Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, active with LeMieux in Broward County GOP politics since the mid-1990s: “He’s a smart guy, politically savvy, a hard worker. There’s nothing negative to say about George….He’s certainly smart enough to wade through the issues.”

Kirk Fordham, head of the Everglades Foundation: “George LeMieux is the right pick for Florida. He has a deep understanding of a wide range of regional issues that are unique to Florida. When it comes to protecting the people’s water supply and restoring the Everglades, we couldn’t ask for a better ally than we’ll have in Senator George LeMieux.”

Officials in Gov. Charlie Crist’s administration responded to a report showing the state last in highway transportation spending by saying that states spend the money in different ways.

“We believe that all state DOTs are doing an outstanding job in implementing the Recovery Act funds,” Crist’s stimulus adviser Don Winstead and state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos wrote in a letter to U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn.

Oberstar wrote to Crist on Thursday urging him to speed up highway spending. Crist’s likely U.S. Senate opponent, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, issued a press release today saying Crist is responsible for a series of missteps with the stimulus money that has delayed potential relief for thousands of out-of-work Floridians.

(Crist was also targeted today by his GOP primary opponent, Marco Rubio, who mocked Crist for supporting the stimulus money in the first place.

Winstead and Kopelousos wrote that the report from Congress was “outdated and does a disservice to the tireless efforts of the Crist administration.”

To read the entire letter, click here

People in Florida and national politics reacted today to reports of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez’s impending resignation:

“Mel Martinez’s life is a testament to the boundless promise that exists in America, where a young Cuban exile can come to the United States without his parents and rise to become a Cabinet secretary and U.S. senator. As he looks ahead towards the next phase of his life, I wish him and his family all the best.
“As Governor Crist considers who he will appoint as Florida’s next U.S. senator, I urge him to take great care in his selection. Florida deserves an interim senator who will go to Washington and serve as a true check on President Obama’s push for more wasteful government spending, government-run health care and cap-and-trade. The last thing Florida needs is a U.S. senator that will stand with President Obama instead of challenging the wrong direction he is leading our country and offering constructive conservative solutions moving forward.”
— Republican former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, a 2010 candidate for Martinez’s seat

“Senator Mel Martinez made history when he was elected to the U.S. Senate and I wish him only the best in his future endeavors. It is fitting that one of Senator Martinezs final votes was to confirm a history-making Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor and I am so pleased that he cast this vote one that I wholeheartedly support.”
— Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a 2010 candidate for Martinez’s seat

“Mel has been a good Senate colleague of mine, as well as a personal friend. He also has been a dedicated public servant for Florida. I look forward to our continued friendship — and to having the same bipartisan working relationship with his successor.”
— U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida

“I have a great deal of respect for my good friend Mel Martinez. I know this decision was a difficult one for him, but I think he is doing what he believes is right for him and his family. We will immediately begin the process of selecting an appropriate replacement to serve the remainder of Senator Martinez’s term and I look forward to making an announcement in the coming weeks.”
— Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican candidate for Martinez’s U.S. Senate seat
(more…)

•