So much for a vote of confidence.
Reports are surfacing that former President Bill Clinton, while publicly endorsing Kendrick Meek, asked the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate to drop out of the race, reports Politico.com.
Clinton apparently told Meek that he had no shot at beating Republican candidate and front runner Marco Rubio and that the Dems best shot at making sure Rubio doesn't head to Washington was Gov. Charlie Crist.
To sell the Meek on quitting, Clinton allegedly told Meek he would be viewed as a "hero."
Riiiight.
Meek responded to the story Thursday and denied the former president or any of the top Democrats have asked him to step aside.
"President Clinton did not ask me to drop out of the race," Meek said, vowing that he plans to beat both Rubio and Crist.
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Then Friday morning, Meek told CNN it was Crist who talked to him about dropping out of the race.
"Gov. Crist talked to me about getting out of the race. I recommended to the governor that he should consider getting out of
the race," he said.
But Clinton's camp told NBC that the former president did try to convince Meek to sacrifice himself for the good of the party. Meek just wasn't buying.
Rumors had been circulating for months that several top Democrats felt Crist should in essence carry the Democrats flag and voters despite the governor being a Republican turned independent.
A Rubio-Crist showdown would have likely been a dead heat, but with Crist and meek splitting the Democratic vote, Rubio has built a comfortable lead.
A recent poll has Rubio ahead by at least 7 points on Crist, with Meek pulling up the rear.
