So this is what a three-way Senate race looks like. Charlie Crist, the independent candidate in the Florida race that pits him against Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek and Republican nominee Marco Rubio is up with a negative spot that tries to tear down both of his rivals at the same time.
“Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek,” the ad’s dark voiceover intones. “What we don’t need in Washington.”
In substance, the ad goes after both men on familiar themes. Rubio is the man who’s under investigation for “using a Republican party credit card to pay for personal meals, trips and a family reunion.” Meek is the guy who “steered government contracts to an indicted developer who then hired Meek’s mother.”
Both topics have been heavily discussed in the past. Rubio has denied any wrongdoing regarding the credit card accusations, and Meek just shook off the accusations about the developer that were at the center of Jeff Greene’s primary campaign against him.
Of Crist’s new ad, Meek says the negative attacks will hurt Crist in his quest to win Democratic votes in November. Recent polls have suggested that strategy is falling flat. “The governor is using the most cynical and desperate Republican attacks to stop the bleeding,” Meek’s campaign said in a press release today.
The TPM Poll Average shows Rubio leading the three-way contest with 39.1% of the vote. Crist comes in second with 30.6% and Meek trails with 21.2%.
Watch Crist’s double-negative ad here:
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.