Report: Florida Gov. Crist will run for Senate

The Republican is very popular in his state, and is probably the GOP's best chance to hold on to the seat.

Published May 11, 2009 3:35PM (EDT)

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist wil reportedly announce Tuesday that he plans to run for the Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Mel Martinez. Crist's entry in to the race -- which has been the subject of speculation for some time now -- puts a serious crimp on Democratic hopes to capture the seat. The governor's a very popular figure in Florida, and is the clear favorite.

If the report is true, there could still be one interesting dynamic in the race: Marco Rubio, who had been the speaker of the state House, has already announced that he's running for the Republican nomination. He'll position himself as the conservative opposition to Crist, who's not a favorite in the GOP base because of his moderate stances. The persistent stories about the governor's sexuality don't help him there, either, and it will be interesting to see if more surface during his run against Rubio.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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