Rubio Gaining Momentum In Florida's Senate Race

The three-way political battleground expected in Florida’s November Senate race has seemingly become a one-man show, according to recent polls. 

A Rasmussen Reports poll reveals that GOP candidate Marco Rubio (41%) is currently holding a double digit lead over his Independent opponent, Governor Charlie Crist (30%), and Democrat Kendrick Meek (23%).

What was originally thought to be one of the tightest races of this year’s midterm election has now become as predictable as it looked during early primary season. Rubio’s recent momentum swing can be credited to the majority of Floridians who now favor repealing healthcare reform. Polls indicate that Rubio holds a strong favorable opinion among Florida voters, edging out his opponents.

Governor Charlie Crist will be faced with an uphill battle as he struggles to gain votes from people who lost confidence with both Democrats and Republicans.  His efforts to do so may have been shot down after an impressive Democratic primary victory by Kendrick Meek.  

In an interview with Chris Matthews Monday, Meek said “standing up for the middle class… is going to help us win the race.” Meek’s plan to make this a right versus left race and leave Crist on the back burner isn’t quite panning out the way he had hoped with him trailing Rubio by nearly 20 percentage points and Crist by seven.

Not all is lost for Meek, however, as polls show that nearly half of Crist’s voters say they are not 100% set on voting for the Independent, an interesting statistic considering voters who remain undecided going in to an election tend to vote for one of the two major parties. 

DNC launches new website on McCain VP picks

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) held a conference call to announce the launch of its new website, www.TheNextCheney.com. Brad Woodhouse, DNC Senior Communications Director, said the website highlights Senator John McCain's (R-Ariz.) potential vice-presidential picks, aiming to illustrate that a combination of McCain and any of the choices only means "more of the same."

The website lists Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Governor Charlie Crist of Florida, Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Senator John Thune (R-SD), Carly Fiorina, Fred Smith, and Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Va.) as McCain's roster of potential vice presidents, but Woodhouse said the DNC may add more to the list. Woodhouse said any McCain ticket means only "more of the same" seen from the Bush-Cheney administration. Mike Gehreke, DNC Research Director, said McCain will have a very hard time picking a running make who can differentiate him from the negative legacy of the Bush administration.