Gov. Charlie Crist (I-FL), who left the Republican Party last month to run for Senate as an independent, has been working to pick up support from traditionally Democratic-leaning labor unions. But while he has made remarkable progress for someone who was just recently a Republican, he must still at best share the billing with Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek.
The good news came for Crist over the weekend, when the Florida Education Association gave a co-endorsement of both himself and Meek. This endorsement ought to have a big significance for Crist, given the huge favor he did for the union. Crist’s party switch was seemingly clinched in mid-April, when he vetoed a high-profile education bill supported by the state’s Republicans, which would have eliminated tenure for new teachers and instituted strict guidelines for merit pay.
FEA president Andy Ford praised both candidates. “Kendrick Meek has always been a strong backer of public education and our positions for as long as he’s been a public service. He has always supported our schools and its employees,” said Ford, who also added later: “We think an independent Charlie Crist working for Floridians would also be a great asset in the Senate.”
However, Meek was able to shut Crist out with the AFL-CIO, which gave its full endorsement to Meek alone.
And to be clear, Meek worked very hard to get that solo endorsement. Facing of a potentially damaging dual endorsement alongside Crist, Meek gave a fiery speech, the Palm Beach Post reports:
“No one should be able to come in at the last moment to serve his or her politics and say that, ‘I’m your friend.'”
“I’m asking you to fight, scratch, crawl, bite, do whatever you gotta do to help us win.”
“I don’t just want your vote, I need your full support. Members should not have to walk in to the halls when I walk through and say ‘This is one of our co-endorsed candidates.’ Co? What’s that? You’re either walking or you’re running. There’s no jogging.”
