Crist Kicks The Anthill

The Miami Herald reports that at 9:12AM EDT Gov. Charlie Crist announces bid for U.S. Senate

Just 14 minutes after Crist’s news release came out, the National Republican SenatorialCommittee endorsed him over former House Speaker Marco Rubio. It’s rare for a national party to intervene so publicly in a primary.

The McClatchy main site has a background piece that was published in anticipation of this move:

“It’s going to be like a fruit basket overturned,” said Joyce Russell, of the non-partisan Forum of the Palm Beaches, where Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink spoke Monday amid buzz about her potential gubernatorial campaign. “I like consistency. This makes me nervous.”

Besides Crist and Sink, the other statewide elected officials expected to seek new office are Attorney General Bill McCollum and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, both likely to run for governor.

Crist’s bid could also leave the Republican Party of Florida in the lurch, putting at risk its control of the governor’s mansion and Florida’s Cabinet. And with Crist running for federal office, he no longer can raise corporate contributions or unlimited “soft money” for the state party. That means that the state GOP, already cutting staffers and facing fundraising challenges with the sour economy, loses its top money-raiser.

“It’s a huge problem for Republicans, and it certainly plays into the other side’s hands,” said Republican consultant Brett Doster of Tallahassee. “It’s going to put the party in a more defensive posture than it has been in a couple decades.”

Come on, this move was about as unexpected as New Year’s happening on January 1^st. The economy is in the tank; the legislature is filled with people looking for a new job because of term limits and the expected fall out from all of the bad decisions made for ideological reasons. He’s seen the real books for the state and doesn’t want to be part of what’s coming.

Charlie can win, and, I think, Alex Sink can win the governorship.