Yesterday Governor Crist made the decision to run as a No Party Affiliation candidate for U.S. Senate. This put me in a commanding position to be the next Senator from Florida. Governor Crist’s decision to run as an Independent makes this a three-way race, with Speaker Rubio effectively winning the Republican nomination. That means on election day, Floridians will have a choice between a strong, progressive Democrat who fights hard for everyday Floridians and two registered Republicans who together were the architects of Florida’s failed economy, who both are embroiled in a tax evasion scandal, and who both favor more tax breaks for corporate special interests and the wealthy as their only economic proposal.
The national Republicans know that with two Republicans on the ballot in November we have a great chance to elect a candidate who will actually work for the needs of everyday Floridians. That’s why they urged Governor Crist to stay in the race as a Republican or drop out.
Why do I think our campaign is in such good shape? The numbers. The base Democratic vote in Florida is 2.5 million strong and we are on the rise in Florida. While the other side was locked in a battle over whose philosophy is more conservative, we were busy gathering over 145,000 petitions from Floridians to get on the ballot. We’ve been running a strong grassroots campaign for months and this effort will be key to turning out the vote in November, especially in a three-way race. The overall voter turnout in 2010 looks to be about 6.2 million voters. That means that in a race with Crist and Rubio on the ballot, we can win with 40% of the overall vote, a number we can get to with the Democratic base alone.
Crist polls well now in a three-way race. But that’s because our campaign isn’t as widely-known at this point. Almost everyone in Florida knows Gov. Crist and most know Speaker Rubio, meaning they have little room to grow their support. I have a great opportunity to introduce myself to voters, tell them my story and what I’m going to fight for as Florida’s next U.S. Senator.
I’ll stay around a while to answer questions in the comments. Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks for your support.
Kendrick
PS: Learn more about our campaign at kendrickmeek.com, by texting JOIN to 35736, following us on http://twitter.com/kendrickmeek or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/kendrickmeek4florida
PPS: See this article on Pollster.com: http://www.pollster.com/blogs/florida_senate_playing_what_if.php
