This week, Major League Baseball is holding the 80th All Star Game in St. Louis. With the recent success of the Tampa Bay Rays, the question could be asked – when will the Rays host the All Star Game?
Continue reading
The results of the Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial primary are a great example of what may occur in the Florida Republican Senate primary. Here are the comparisons:
|
|
Virginia |
Florida |
|
Name Recognition Advantage |
McAuliffe |
Crist |
|
Prior Poll Results favored…. |
McAuliffe |
Crist |
|
Money Advantage |
McAuliffe |
Crist |
|
Message over money |
Deeds |
Rubio |
|
Stronger Online Presence |
Deeds |
Rubio |
|
Winner (the underdog) |
Deeds |
Rubio? |
Currently polls are indicating the Crist is in the lead, however we still have over a year left in the campaign season. Creigh Deeds, in Virginia, is a good example of how early polls don’t fly nowadays by beating Terry McAuliffe by over a 20-point margin on election day. Look what happened to Giuliani as well last year. If polls were done online or on social networks today, the results would indicate that Rubio takes the commanding lead.
Speaking of internet, as soon as Deeds got the endorsement from the Washington Post he spent over half of his online ad budget on a Google surge of displayed advertising. Within 28 hours of this Google blast about 8.8 million impressions ran. Could we expect the same from Rubio? Possibly.
Even if he does not get an endorsement from the press there is lots of positive remarks already marked on tv and print which he can use to his advantage when campaigning. Right now Rubio is the media darling and the more the press allows Rubio to speak the less he needs to spend on paid advertising which then leaves him more time to do the one-on-one with citizens like Deed.
Another example of his appeal with the media is a recent conversation I had with a friend of mine, who is a reporter for one of the major networks. She told me that she is considering switching parties just to vote in the Republican primary and would vote for Rubio. Why? She explained after interviewing him and watching other reports that he is not a typical politician who dodges questions or wedge issues. Although she may not agree with all his positions the fact that he is very direct in responding showed her that he has the ability to lead.
In conclusion, take it from Patrick Ruffini, a Republican online strategist, who was quoted saying, “In the modern campaign, early money and establishment support matters far, far less than it used to, and could actually turn out to be a handicap — particularly when money becomes the story.” He adds, “As a campaign manager, I’d much, much rather be running the guy with a message and no money versus the guy with money and no message.”
United States Senators John Cornyn, Mitch McConnell, Lamar Alexander, Mel Martinez, and now John McCain… all lining up behind Governor Charlie Crist.
Rubio has… um… well… let’s see. I know there is a big grassroots push behind former Florida House of Representatives Speaker Marco Rubio. But, my fellow Republicans, ask yourself when the last time a “grassroots” effort actually mattered in the Republican primary.
I know it irks many people to see Crist get this kind of attention. Heck, Rubio may actually be better for the Republican Party. The list of positive qualities about Rubio is longer than my arm… (I just disagree with some of his positions on issues; the same way my more conservative colleagues disagree with Crist’s positions on issues).
That said, the Republican Party exists to win elections. It’s all well and good to have a discussion about issues, but why waste time, effort, energy, and money — all of which are in limited supply — without having the best chance to win an election.
Some misguided folks are actually calling for a boycott of the NRSC because of this. Hmmm. Let’s see. The Democrats are about to get 60 Senators thanks to Specter and the voters of Minnesota. In 2010, the Democrats are likely going to win in Ohio, Missouri, New Hampshire, and maybe Kentucky. And people want to deprive them of the financial capability of defending these and taking back other seats. Do you really LIKE being in the minority and letting Harry Reid run roughshod over us?
In my book, the Florida Senate seat will remain Republican. The NRSC has a limited pocketbook, and Crist in the general will be less expensive than Rubio. Seems to me backing Crist is a fiscally conservative thing to do…
Even if it’s not politically conservative.
The Buzz has a report on a recent Mason-Dixon poll:
The poll also compared Crist to Gelber and Meek and looked at the Governor’s race… but I am wondering why they did not ask about Rubio facing Gelber or Meek. Perhaps Quinnipiac or another poll will include that information.
At last night’s Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee, Chairwoman Deborah Cox-Roush gave her report on the recent resolution adopted by the leadership of the REC to express their displeasure at Republican party leaders getting involved in primary races. While I am paraphrasing her speech, she said the GOP should wait and let the voters decide.
Unfortunately, that is not reality. Republican and Democratic party leaders get involved in just about every race. They play favorites well before the primary. They attempt to anoint their preferred candidate. It happens all the time.
Here is a case in point: Dennis Ross. The Lakeland Ledger is reporting Ross is getting the backing of most party bigwigs, from Jeb Bush to Eric Cantor. The party is attempting to “clear the field” for Ross. Where is the outrage from conservatives complaining about backing a candidate before the voters have had a chance to speak?
Don’t get me wrong, I like Ross. He will make a great Congressman. But if our party leaders are really going to sit back and shout because party leaders backed Crist over Rubio, they need to have the same standard for Congressional, legislative, and county races. But I won’t be holding my breath for a resolution on the GOP’s early involvement in the CD 12 race…
Many readers know that I used to manage campaigns in a former life. I also ran for state representative in 2002. I have seen first hand how the Republican Party gets involved in races before the primary. It happens in almost every race. Yet this is the first time we’ve seen this kind of widespread agitation over a common practice.
If our local leaders are that adamant about party meddling, they need to oppose it every time… even when the meddling benefits candidates they personally support.
Many Republican activists toss around the term RINO – “Republican In Name Only” – to describe fellow Republicans with whom they disagree on a few issues. Yes, I said a few.
Continue reading
Received this via email:
A Statement from Mayor Iorio May 11, 2009There has been a lot of political interest generated since Florida’s Senator Mel Martinez made his announcement about stepping down in 2010. I have gotten my share of phone calls and letters from people wanting to know what political plans I had for the future.
Over the past several months, I have given much thought to this and have concluded that 2010 is not the right time to pursue a statewide or national office. My four-year term as mayor does not end until March 2011 and I believe that running both the city of Tampa and a statewide campaign at the same time over the next eighteen months would shortchange the citizens of Tampa. Properly balancing the city’s budget in these difficult economic times deserves my full attention, as does the completion of the major capital improvement projects I began with the new Cultural Arts District along our downtown waterfront. Of particular importance to me, and to the entire region, is the major initiative of light rail, which needs time and strong support to become a reality.
I appreciate the words of encouragement and support from many friends and constituents but will not be announcing for any other office this year.
What a relief! Former Florida House Speaker, Marco Rubio, is in the run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. He indicated his desire for the post on Univision-Miami, however the official announcement is to be aired on Cinco de Mayo on his website www.MarcoRubio.com at 10:00am.
Why not a press conference? Who cares about speaking in front of reporters and supporters because at that point everyone knows why they were invited. What Rubio is doing is a great way to keep people talking and keep the enthusiasm alive.
By communicating through Univision, a website, and social networking tools clearly indicates his awareness of the important role Hispanics and the youth will play in the upcoming election. Besides being bilingual, studies show Hispanics spend more time online than any other group mainly because the average age of Latinos is 27. They are part of the larger “Millennial” generation, a cohort with political muscle.
When you think about it, the Republican Party needs a catalyst like Rubio, who will bring a little Sazón (flavor) to the party and expand the party’s base by attracting the youth and Latino vote. Sorry, if I am about to offend some of you, but enough with the blue-hairs in office! Most people who don’t follow politics will say, “I want someone who I can relate to and looks like me.”
Let’s see where the moderate Charlie Crist stands later this week. Some Republicans are disappointed with Crist and are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel with the more conservative Rubio. Others have stated that Crist is still a shoo-in in a primary alluding to his 2006 win against a conservative Gallagher.
Times are a changing! In 2006, we did not have “Tea Parties” nor was there a strong presence of campaigning via social networking tools and YouTube. Although Gallagher tried to paint Crist as “too liberal,” today Republicans are opening their eyes and feeling a little buyers remorse.
Please tune into www.marcorubio.com today at 10:00am and come back for your comments.
Former Florida House speaker will announce his future political plans on Cinco de Mayo at 10:00am. He will be utilizing today’s current technology and campaign method to make his announcement at www.MarcoRubio.com. Stay tuned and follow back with your comments!
The 2009 Legislative Session passed the 60-day mark yesterday, extended for one more week. The only thing left to do is pass the budget, with tobacco taxes and the Seminole Gaming compact – and the revenue they generate – included.
And so, the next thing for Florida politicos to discuss: Will Governor Charlie Crist run for re-election or for the United States Senate? And when?
So today on Twitter, there is a new #cristcountdown discussion.
What do you think? Post your tweet on Twitter:
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers). Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow anybody to access them. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, text message, or external applications. The service is free to use over the Internet, but using text messages may incur phone service provider fees.
Follow State of Sunshine on Twitter
