Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) just suffered an embarrassing setback in his Senate primary against the more conservative former state House speaker Marco Rubio, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Crist lost a GOP straw poll in Pinellas — his home county.
The vote was not even close, either, at 106-54. While it’s possible that Crist could carry the greater number of voters in the actual primary, this development is definitely not a vote of confidence from the party activists.
“I volunteered for Charlie for nine years. I love Charlie as a person. If he was here, I would give him a big hug. He actually called me about this (straw poll) yesterday,” said straw poll participant Wilna Varney, who voted for Rubio. “But I’m a more conservative person, and I’m going to support the more conservative candidate.”
