Poll-itics: Both Crist and McCain leading

By GottaLaff

Those Tea Baggers just can't seem to find a winning candidate.

First a peppering of McCain:

A new DailyKos/Research 2000 poll in Arizona finds Sen. John McCain (R) leading primary challenger J.D. Hayworth (R), 48% to 36%.

In general election match ups, McCain leads Rodney Glassman (D). 48% to 35%. If Hayworth is the GOP nominee, he just edges Glassman, 43% to 42%.

Add a dash of Crist:

A new Mason Dixon poll in Florida finds Gov. Charlie Crist (I) leading a three-way race for U.S. Senate with 38%, followed by Marco Rubio (R) at 32% and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) at 19%.

Now a splash of sour:

Key finding: "More than half of Crist's supporters are Democrats, who overwhelmingly approve of his defection from the GOP and recent veto of a controversial teacher tenure bill."

Pollster Brad Coker thinks these numbers will change, unless the Dems somehow turn on Meek. It's about name recognition.

And there we have it: A recipe for 2010 election fun. Stir it up, shake like crazy, bring to a boil, and bam!

Poll-itics: Crist Grabs Lead in Early Poll

By GottaLaff

The Tea Tantrumers will start their whining in 5...4..3...2...:

A new McLaughlin & Associates poll in Florida shows Gov. Charlie Crist (I) leading the U.S. Senate race with 33%, followed by Marco Rubio (R) at 29% and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) at 15%.

Interestingly, the poll shows Crist taking more votes from Meek than Rubio. Crist actually does better with Democrats than Meek, with 41% of them saying they would vote for him compared to 31% for Meek.

However, the Dems will whine, too. Okay, Kendrick, start kicking some serious butt, stat!

Haiti tragedy puts Kendrick Meek in spotlight

By GottaLaff

Let's give Meek some attention since nobody else is:

The earthquake in Haiti is drawing attention to the U.S. Senate candidate whose congressional district includes the most Haitian-Americans in the country: Kendrick Meek. [...]

As a sitting member of Congress who represents many Haitian-Americans and has visited the island a number of times, Meek is expected to be out front at this time. But as a Senate candidate, he has to be careful not to appear to be exploiting the disaster.

Meek's website is here.

H/t: Rawls

VIDEO- Rep. Meek: Members of Congress tell health insurers, "We have your back"

By GottaLaff

Nothing you don't already know, but Rep. Meek confirms a few things, and it ain't pretty:

In an interview with ThinkProgress yesterday, Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) — who is now running for Senate — warned that special interests’ influence over Congress has impeded efforts at health care reform.

Labor unions support Democratic Rep. Meek in Florida

By GottaLaff

But what happens if Charlie Crist-- who's married!-- gets into the race:

Big Labor is picking sides early in the race to replace Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), as Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) won a nod from another top union on Saturday.

Meek has scored the backing of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, the third union to support the Miami Democrat.

After being the first candidate to jump in the race since Martinez announced he would retire, Meek also picked up backing from the Service Employees International Union and the state's largest teacher's union.

Labor is choosing sides unusually early in the wide-open race for Senate. Though Republicans are waiting to see if Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will get in the race, Democrats have no such field-clearing candidate, now that Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink (D) has indicated she will not run. [...]

On the GOP side, Crist's indecision has frozen the field. Should he enter the race, the first-term governor would be the overwhelming favorite in both the primary and the general election. If he decides instead to run for re-election, Reps. Vern Buchanan (R) and Connie Mack (R) will each consider the race.

Former state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R), a young politico who could appeal to Cuban voters, is the candidate with whom Washington Republicans are most smitten.

FL-Sen: Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) to run for Senate

By GottaLaff


Meek on Hardball back in November

This is making Paddy very happy, and with good reason:

With Jeb Bush out, the jockeying for position in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Mel Martinez has officially begun, with Rep. Kendrick Meek set to enter the race.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, who led the effort to put class-size limits in the state constitution, plans to announce his candidacy for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, say sources close to Meek.

Meek would be the first major candidate to get in the 2010 race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Mel Martinez.

Meek, 42, is beginning his fourth term in Congress. He sits on the powerful Ways & Means Committee and the Armed Services Committee and has a close relationship with Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

If elected, Meek would be one of a small number of African-Americans in the Senate come 2011; upon his swearing-in, Roland Burris will be the only one in the 111th Congress.

Meek would also be the first African-American Senator from a Southern state since Reconstruction.

Meek's early entry may affect the future plans of other Democrats considering the Senate race. Reps. Allen Boyd, Robert Wexler and Ron Klein, along with state CFO Adelaide "Alex" Sink, are all rumored to be mulling a run. While the chances are still good that at least one of them will indeed run, the potential for a difficult primary against Meek will very likely deter some of them.