Run, Charlie, Run – Away from the GOP

The 2010 U.S. Senate race is now a three-man political weave

Gov. Charlie Crist put on his running shoes Thursday and he took the political version of a lap around the block.

Crist announced that he would be running away from the Republican Party to run as in independent for the U.S. Senate in November.

In front of hundreds of supporters in his hometown of Saint Petersburg, Crist put to rest the rumors of what he might do with his political future.

"My choice to run without party affiliation says more about our nation and our state than it does about me," he said. "Unfortunately, our political system is broken."

Crist stuck with his "candidate of the people" platform during the speech and downplayed his last-minute switch, that would seem like political career suicide for a high-profile candidate like Crist.

"I don't vote for an idea because it's Republican. I vote for it because it's a good idea," he said. "I know this is uncharted territory. When I finish this speach, I won't have either party supporting me."

Even before the announcement, the backlash from Crist's former backers in the Republican Party is reaching witch hunt proportions.

Nationwide reports have GOP leaders calling Crist everything from flip flopper to Benedict Arnold. Many have asked for their campaign contributions back, although Crist doesn't have to give back any of the $7 million he has collected. His campaign has said they are giving back prorated discounts to some contributors.

One national GOP fundraiser said it's time to put the nail in the coffin of Crist's political career.

"Once you leave the party, you can't come back,' Sen. John Cornyn, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman, told the Huffington Post. "And if he has other aspirations, it's hard to see how that works out."

But while the Haterade keeps flowing out of the Republican Party, Crist appears to be looking out for No. 1. A run as an independent gives him the best shot at winning, a major polling survey claims, despite Republican backlash.

“Crist has a better chance in a three-way general election, but he will face serious challenges maintaining that lead because most of the Republican organization that backed his election as governor has indicated it will support the GOP nominee," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "On the other hand, Crist has been a master politician so no one should count him out.”

If Crist goes through with the switch, he will join Republican Marco Rubio and the likely Democrat candidate Kendrick Meek on the November ballot.

Meek said Crist will have a hard time convincing anyone he's an independent and that Meek offers voters a clear alternative to two "bickering" Republicans.

Rubio, who has bashed Crist at every turn on his way to taking command of the state GOP, was at a little league baseball game when he told reporters that Crist's announcement meant nothing in terms of his campaign.

"When I came into this race, I believe I was the only candidate in this race who would stand up to what was happening in Washington and offered a clear alternative," he said. "Nothing that has happened today has changed that."

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