The Republican Senate primary in Florida, between the front-running moderate Gov. Charlie Crist and the more conservative former state House Speaker Marco Rubio is now heating up — with a serious accusation being made of political retribution.
State Sen. Steve Oelrich is now claiming that because he endorsed Rubio, and also didn’t support Crist on another initiative, Crist got back at him by vetoing a bill that Oelrich had fought for. “I’m certain the Governor’s Office would deny all that, but politics being what they are, it’s discouraging sometimes,” he told the Gainesville Sun.
Rubio stepped in to endorse the allegation, posting this on Twitter: “Happy for State Sen. Steve Oelrich’s endorsement. But sorry that it got his bill vetoed.”
Crist’s press secretary strongly denied the allegations to the Sun. “There’s no political retribution,” Ivey said. “The bill was vetoed for the reasons stated in the (veto) letter.”
