Charlie Crist to Leave Republican Party to Run as an Independent for Florida US Senate Seat?

Crist,  I am running as a Republican … LIAR!!!

“I’m running as a Republican,” Crist said when asked if he might switch out of the primary due to his trailing poll numbers against Rubio.

Pressed again several times, Crist told Fox moderator Chris Wallace. “Chris, I, I’m running as a Republican. I’m running for the U.S. Senate.”

When is an independent not an independent? When they merely do so because the voters of a party that they belong to and have received campaign funding as decides that they prefer some one else. Crist is entitled to do anything he wishes; however, this is a clear sign to all voters of Florida that the Crist’s words cannot be trusted. He could not even tell the truth on national TV of which party he would run as.  We shall see what Crist does …  Decide for yourself.

Welcome to the so-called Independent man Charle Crist. There is nothing independent about Crist, just as will turncoat Arlen Specter, it is about maintaining power, it has nothing to do with the voters.

The source tells ABC News that Crist has started calling his major donors to tell them of his decision to run as an independent.

The source says that virtually all of his political staff will leave.

“I’m sure they already have their boxes packed,” said the source, who was granted anonymity to encourage candor about the still-evolving situation.

The Crist campaign is not confirming his plans to leave the GOP and is encouraging members of the media to stay tuned for a Thursday afternoon press conference the governor is planning to hold in his hometown.

If Crist decides to run as an independent it is not because he is one, it is because he is getting his butt kicked by Republican candidate Marco Rubio by nearly a 2 to 1 margin. The most recent Rasmussen poll has Rubio over Crist by 57% to 28%. Also, it would not appear that Crist has a chance in a 3 way race either, Rubio leads both Meeks and Crist in a Rasmussen poll as well.

At what point does a politician just admit the truth? The people of Florida do not like his message or his vision. Instead, a so-called Republican who has taken how much campaign money from the GOP and voters suddenly decides to potentially harm them by making it a 3 way race. It is the mark of a desperate act from a desperate candidate. Say goodbye Charlie.

CNN reports that a Crist run could be an issue for the GOP gaining the FL seat in the upcoming election. In the end, if Crist decides to run it only shows that Republican voters were correct about him all along and right to vote for Rubio. Crist’s only chance of winning is by fracturing the Republican/Independent vote in Florida in a 3 way race. All to maintain his power.

Personally I agree with QandO that if Crist changes at this point to an Independent, he is finished. His support and campaign $’s will dry up leaving him blowing in the wind.

UPDATE I: Crist Announces he will run as Independent as staffers bolt his campaign. This is what occurs when one decides to act as some thing they are not. The idea that Crist is an independent is as believable as Republican voters in Florida thought he was a better candidate that Marco Rubio. The Republican Rubio could not have been more correct when he stated, Crists change was one of “convenience, not conviction.”

At least three members of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s campaign staff resigned on Thursday shortly after Crist announced he is quitting the Republican Party and running for Senate as an independent.

Crist’s campaign attorney Benjamin Ginsberg, a veteran GOP legal player who advised both Bush-Cheney presidential campaigns and later Mitt Romney’s 2008 campaign, sent Crist his resignation letter moments after Thursday’s announcement.

Crist uses the same old tired line that the “political system is broken” in order to justify his clinging the rail of so-called independence to try and prolong his political career. However, just as staffers left following Crist’s speech that he was severing ties with the Republican party, so did Republicans leave and end their support for the so-called Independent Man.

In a moment of profound understatement, Crist said that “I am aware that after this speech ends, I don’t have either party helping me.”

Quite right. Immediately after Crist’s announcement, Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), John Cornyn (R., Texas), Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.), Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.), and John Thune (R., S.D.) released a joint statement withdrawing support.

“We can no longer support the candidacy of Governor Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate.  More than a year ago, Governor Crist asked for our endorsement with a commitment that he would proudly represent Floridians and our party with principled conservative leadership. Quite simply, he did not keep his word.

Isn’t this special, following Crist’s announcement that he was leaving the Republican party, donors who gave him campaign $’s because he was a Republican asked for their money back. Crist said he would refund it at a pro-rated amount. NICE! A partial refund from a partial Republican.