Charlie Crist is up with two new TV spots intended to help Florida voters understand his transition from Republican to independent in Florida’s strange three-way Senate race. The message in the ads is potentially a strong one for the swingy Sunshine State electorate: I’m an independent, so I can do what I want, Crist explains. Partisan lines don’t define me.
But the delivery…well, judge for yourself. If you want some political trivia questions to ask yourself while you watch, try these: is the sunny — and oil-free — beach setting for these ads a veiled reference to Crist’s roundly praised handling of the Florida part of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Does the fact that Crist ends the second ad standing on the “Republican” side of the line mean he wouldn’t caucus with Democrats? Does defending the stimulus in the first spot mean he’s definitely going to caucus with the Democrats? Is that really Crist drawing a line in the sand in the second spot or did they use a stunt stick?
The TPM Poll Average for the three-way Senate race in Florida shows Republican nominee Marco Rubio with 36.8% of the vote, Crist with 33.4% and Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek with 19.9%.
Watch Crist’s new ads:
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.
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