NorthWest Florida Republican

Not so surprisingly, Charlie Crist announced today that he would run as an Independent for the vacant Senate seat in Florida.

“My decision to run for the United States Senate as a candidate without party affiliation in many ways says more about our nation and our state, than it does about me,” Crist announced.

“For me it’s never been about doing what’s easy,” he said today, “it’s about doing what is right for the people first.” – ABC.com

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Please. This has always been about Charlie Crist. If it wasn’t about Crist, he would have thrown his endorsement behind Rubio and ran against Senator Bill Nelson like everyone has been asking him to do.

“In fact this has nothing to do with ideas or principles or ideology, it’s about quite frankly political convenience. It’s about someone who wants to continue his career in politics and doesn’t believe he can do that this year within the Republican party,” Rubio said in an exclusive interview today with ABC News.

Even Marco Rubio can see this.

This sets up a Three way race for the Senate seat an could potentially hurt Marco Rubio’s chances for election. Polls show that Crist can narrowly defeat both Democrat challenger Meek and Republican Challenger Rubio.

A Rasmussen Reports poll taken April 21 found Mr. Rubio leading with 37 percent, followed by Mr. Crist at 30 percent and Mr. Meek at 24 percent. A poll earlier in April had shown Mr. Crist with a slight lead over Mr. Rubio. – NewsMax.com

But there is still a long way to go to election. Especially since many Republicans are starting to ask for their contributions returned from Charlie Crist.

One Republican senator has asked Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to return a $1,000 contribution to his Senate campaign, and other senators are expected to follow suit if Mr. Crist announces Thursday he’s dropping out of the Republican primary in Florida to run as an independent.

Crist is hoping that recent troubles in the Republican party finances are going to hurt his strongest challenger but he needs to remember who put the former chairman Jim Greer into place. The same chairman who is currently under investigation and openly supported Charlie Crist’s bid for the Senate seat.

While those of us have always questioned Crist’s motives, there are still a few stalwarts within the Republican party who don’t think that Crist has changed any.

“He hasn’t switched,” said Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, who is locked in a primary battle with former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.

However, there will be little support from Republicans in the state of Florida. Many are still irritated enough to remember his embrace of President Obama and the huge expansion of the Federal Government that Charlie Crist approves of.

“Charlie seems to have burned a lot of bridges, and I don’t see him hurting our party if he drops out of our Senate primary and runs on his own,” a former state party official said. The official said Mr. Rubio will not lose Republican voters to Mr. Crist, and questioned where Mr. Crist’s base of support will be. – Washington Times

I suspect that with the endorsements that Rubio has received over the last couple of months and his growing warchest of contributions, Rubio will be able to overcome the small differences in cash and polling.

This also just goes to show you that Charlie Crist really isn’t a Republican. Never has been. Never will be. His support of the liberal agenda continue to point out the reality of Crist. Even if he does win, I suspect that he will be a one term Senator. Either way, his affiliation with the Republican party is done.