Stepping In It

So, here's the latest from Florida politics. And it is messy! If you're not following along in the news, fear not. I'll make this simple. There are 4 main characters here.

It all starts with the Senate primaries.

Charlie Crist (the orange one) Florida's Governor, decided to run for Senate.

He found out he was trailing hopelessly in the polls to this man, Marco Rubio (the "Real Republican" one - you can tell by the flag).

If Crist lost to Rubio in the primaries, he would be knocked out of the election, so in a dicey move Crist switched parties and became an Independent to ensure that he would get to run in the fall.

We've also got Kendrick Meek (the Democratic one) running for FL Senate. According to my FL politico relatives Adam and Gina, he is the favorite of the cool progressives and "has been quietly crossing the state talking to anyone and everyone" but is not very well known.

Stop! Scandal time!

Enter Jim Greer (the white, philandering one), the ex-chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, hand-picked for the position by Crist (the orange one). He was arrested this week for grand theft, fraud, and money laundering. He had already stepped down as chairman amid reports of his using a party credit card for personal expenses such as travel. Not only was this guy hand-picked by Crist, but Crist stood by him even when colleagues begged him to look into Greer's spending. Uh oh.

So now, it appears that Crist (who was narrowly ahead in the polls last week) stands to lose big from his ongoing support of the philandering one, and the big question is, what will all this GOP drama do to "Real Republican" Rubio? And what about the Democratic one? Surely he stands to gain from all the muckraking. The St. Petersburg Times reports:

"Strikingly, there is little indication at this early stage that Democratic candidates in Florida are positioned to take advantage. Given the level of scandal, one would think half a candidate could run against the Florida GOP today and win. Average together recent polls, however, and leading Democrats like gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink and U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek are still trailing."

This is going to be an interesting race, folks. Feel free to cut out the characters for a guide over the coming months, and another big thanks to the Tebrugges for their contributions. Stop back in -we'll keep you updated here!