Tycoon to give Meek run for his money for Florida Senate nod

Real estate tycoon Jeff Greene plans to use his personal fortune to help fund his bid for Florida’s Senate seat, which could drain resources from the eventual Democratic nominee.

“I have no budget whatsoever,” Greene told The Hill. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get my message out to the people of Florida.”

Greene, who announced his candidacy April 30, is running for the Democratic nomination against Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.).

The four-term congressman was expected to coast through the primary and into what’s now a three-way race against Republican Marco Rubio and Gov. Charlie Crist, who’s running as an Independent. Instead, he is facing off against Greene in what may prove to be a tough campaign for the Democratic nod.

In terms of funding his campaign, Greene said he won’t take “one penny of special interest money, lobbyist money, PAC money” to fund his campaign. “Not in the primary, not in the general election and not after I go to Washington,” he said. He said he would accept $100 contributions. “That’s going to be the limit.”

Greene is one of the 400 richest people in the country with an estimated net worth close to $1.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

But money only goes so far in politics. While Greene has retained the services of some famous consultants, including Joe Trippi, he has been unable to secure senior campaign staff, despite offering $50,000 a month to prospective candidates, according to the New York Times.

Still, Greene plans to open a headquarters in Palm Beach and said he will have a robust campaign apparatus.

He is positioning himself as the pragmatic outsider running against three “career politicians.”

“I think [Rubio, Crist and Meek] have a lot in common, these three guys, in that they’re all career politicians who are responsible for the failures we’ve had in Washington and Tallahassee,” he said.

Greene said he’s prepared for a rough campaign.

More at link

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Florida race for the U.S.Senate seat is getting more interesting by the day!   Here is my summary. :)

Florida state primaries are on August 24th - quite a ways away! The drama will continue from there on with the entrance of this key player. 

Democrats side: There are 5 candidates at present. Glenn Burkett, Kevin Burns, Maurice Ferre, Jeff Greene (story above) and Kendrick Meek (current member of Florida House of Reps).

Republican side:  As you may know, Crist has dropped out of Republican race and is running as an Independent; wonder how that will go. Marco Rubio (Repub, Conservative, current Speaker of the Florida State House of Reps) is running strong which may explain Crist's move to Independent.

The latest Quinnipiac poll on this Senate seat (April 15, 2010 which I think is before Crist's move to Independent) was very interesting. Here is how that report starts:

April 15, 2010 - Rubio Tops Crist By 23 Points In Florida GOP Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Crist As Independent Has Slight Edge In 3-Way Race Marco Rubio has opened up an elephant-sized 56 - 33 percent lead over Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida's U.S. Senate Republican primary, but in a three-way general election with Rubio on the GOP line, Crist as an independent and Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, Crist has a razor- thin edge, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Gov. Crist leads Meek 48 - 34 percent in a general election matchup, while Rubio's margin over the Democrat is just 42 - 38 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey finds.

If Crist were to file as an independent for the general election, he would get 32 percent of the vote, compared to Rubio's 30 percent and Meek's 24 percent.

Rubio, the former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, has virtually reversed the numbers from last June when he trailed Gov. Crist 54 - 23 percent. He has increased his lead 20 points from a January 26 poll when he edged Crist 47 - 44 percent. More

Of course, Crist's move to go Independent will have probably had some further impact. Again a very interesting primary race on both Republican and Democrat sides, and further, a very interesting finish expected on 11/2.



-- Edited by Sanders on Sunday 9th of May 2010 04:27:07 PM