Front-runner Marco Rubio stayed on message, Gov. Charlie Crist made a desperate sprint across the state and Kendrick Meek announced he was bringing back former President Bill Clinton as the Florida Senate race entered its final stretch.
Clinton will join Meek and the state’s other major Democratic Party candidates at a last-minute voter rally Monday night in Orlando, the Democratic Senate candidate’s campaign said Saturday.
The announcement comes after two days of media reports over whether Clinton privately asked Meek to step aside and endorse Crist, who left the Republican party to run as an independent. Meek and Clinton have denied those reports, even those confirmed by Clinton’s spokesman.
Both Meek and Crist trail Rubio, the tea party-backed Republican. To win, Crist would need at least some of the Democrats who plan to vote for Meek.
Meek has accused Crist of starting the rumors about Clinton and says Crist directly asked him to withdraw.
“I think he’s a nice guy, but I don’t think that that plays a role and I think it’s wrong to try to paint me into the corner and say that I’m the reason why he’s not winning,” Meek told reporters at Wilton Manors city hall, where he and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz were courting early voters. “I don’t blame the position of my campaign at any time on any other opponent.”
It was Meek’s only public event Saturday. He was resting up for 24 hours of nonstop campaigning across much of the state, beginning Sunday night in Tampa.
Meek said the rumors about him possibly dropping out of the three-way race have energized his supporters.
“What some meant for bad ended up being for good. People are now awakened of their responsibility to get out to vote,” he said. “Because now the ant bed has been kicked. Folks are highly disappointed.”
You're welcome, Sanders. Drudge and Hannity, among others, really played up the non-story about Bill pushing Meek to drop out, so I'm glad they're campaigning together in public and laying all that nonsense to rest.