Speculation About Crist Independent Bid Grows

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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April 08, 2010

Speculation About Crist Independent Bid Grows

After Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) "bucked fellow Republicans" by vetoing an elections bill and then announcing plans to overhaul state ethics laws, the St. Petersburg Times reports there is "a surge in speculation" that Crist is positioning himself to drop out of the Republican U.S. Senate primary and run as an independent.

"Under the independent-run scenario, Crist could remain a registered Republican but file paperwork declaring himself running as an independent, or no party affiliation candidate. He could keep most of the money he has raised to date and use it for the general election, rather than a primary election. He wouldn't even be required to comply with refund requests from donors."

Crist has until April 30 to make up his mind. As First Read notes, "None of this speculation helps Crist one bit in the Republican primary, so the longer this speculation is out there, the harder it is for him to win over rank-and-file Republicans."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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April 08, 2010