The Democrat running for governor of Florida is Charlie Crist. Crist used to be governor, but at that time he was a Republican. After that, he ran for the senate as an independent but he lost in a landslide to Marco Rubio. Then Crist spent 2012 working for the re-election of president Obama. Now, after switching to the Democrats, Crist has won the nomination for his old office of governor.
Crist has not only switched parties, he has also switched positions. In fact, some of the flip-flops have been striking to say the least. In one of his most recent reversals, Crist appears to have made a major blunder. Crist is now opposed to the US embargo on travel to Cuba; in fact, Crist announced that he will travel to Cuba this summer (assuming he can get permission from the State Department.)
It is interesting to see Crist swap the pro-embargo position which he has held for many years, to the anti-embargo position. Polling in Florida indicates that a small majority of the population agrees with Crist's new position rather than his old one. Without a doubt, these polling results led to Crist's sudden change of heart. The problem, of course, is that only a small minority of actual voters in Florida consider the embargo on Cuba of sufficient importance for it to affect their votes for governor, but among that minority the pro-embargo forces outnumber the anti-embargo forces by approximately nine to one. The Cuba issue is centered in Miami-Dade County in South Florida where the main body of Cuban Americans live. In recent polling, the Cuban voters give Crist only 30% of their votes after his new position on the embargo. This is a disaster for Crist if it continues. Miami is a must win for any Democrat in Florida, and there needs to be an enormous margin in that region before a Democrat can win statewide. Since Cuban voters are a majority of all voters in Miami and since they also vote in higher numbers than non-Cubans in midterm elections, a lopsided loss for Crist with this group would likely doom his chances at victory statewide. Indeed, the latest polls show Crist running behind the last Democrat who ran for governor by roughly 2% in South Florida, and that Democrat, Alex Sink, lost to the current Republican incumbent governor Scott.
In the last few cycles, we have watched Republican candidates pull bone-headed moves in a number of states. Who can forget the comments on "legitimate rape" or witchcraft from the recent past? This time, however, the big gaffes of the election season seem to be coming from Democrats. We had Iowa's Bruce Braley (who sides with trial lawyers and considers Iowa farmers to be unworthy of the senate) and now Florida's Charlie Crist with his losing stand on the embargo on Cuba.
Crist has not only switched parties, he has also switched positions. In fact, some of the flip-flops have been striking to say the least. In one of his most recent reversals, Crist appears to have made a major blunder. Crist is now opposed to the US embargo on travel to Cuba; in fact, Crist announced that he will travel to Cuba this summer (assuming he can get permission from the State Department.)
It is interesting to see Crist swap the pro-embargo position which he has held for many years, to the anti-embargo position. Polling in Florida indicates that a small majority of the population agrees with Crist's new position rather than his old one. Without a doubt, these polling results led to Crist's sudden change of heart. The problem, of course, is that only a small minority of actual voters in Florida consider the embargo on Cuba of sufficient importance for it to affect their votes for governor, but among that minority the pro-embargo forces outnumber the anti-embargo forces by approximately nine to one. The Cuba issue is centered in Miami-Dade County in South Florida where the main body of Cuban Americans live. In recent polling, the Cuban voters give Crist only 30% of their votes after his new position on the embargo. This is a disaster for Crist if it continues. Miami is a must win for any Democrat in Florida, and there needs to be an enormous margin in that region before a Democrat can win statewide. Since Cuban voters are a majority of all voters in Miami and since they also vote in higher numbers than non-Cubans in midterm elections, a lopsided loss for Crist with this group would likely doom his chances at victory statewide. Indeed, the latest polls show Crist running behind the last Democrat who ran for governor by roughly 2% in South Florida, and that Democrat, Alex Sink, lost to the current Republican incumbent governor Scott.
In the last few cycles, we have watched Republican candidates pull bone-headed moves in a number of states. Who can forget the comments on "legitimate rape" or witchcraft from the recent past? This time, however, the big gaffes of the election season seem to be coming from Democrats. We had Iowa's Bruce Braley (who sides with trial lawyers and considers Iowa farmers to be unworthy of the senate) and now Florida's Charlie Crist with his losing stand on the embargo on Cuba.
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