I guess we’ll be making a bunch of additions to our Shadow Congress map pretty soon as Democrats cast out of office look for lobbying gigs.
WWE to hand out free WWE merchandise at polling places across Connecticut on Election Day. Guess it was only a matter of time before the candidate’s own company started giving away freebies to voters when they vote.
Ben Smith is reporting that on two separate occasions in recent days Bill Clinton had almost convinced Democrat Kendrick Meek to drop out of the Florida Senate race and endorse independent Charlie Crist. The Crist camp says that’s true. The Meek camp is vehemently denying the report that on both occasions Meek initially agreed to the Clinton-brokered deal then backed out.
Late Update: The Kendrick Meek campaign just announced that Meek will hold a press conference at 9:30 p.m. ET outside his Miami Gardens office. Stay tuned …
RNC Chairman Michael Steele weighs in on the goings-on down in Florida:
“If we have learned anything this election cycle, it’s that voters demand the right to choose candidates for themselves, not by a political establishment seeking to make those decisions from on high. President Clinton’s actions to have Kendrick Meek withdraw from the campaign sends a chilling signal to all voters, but especially African Americans. One can only imagine the response if Republican leadership tried to force out of the race – in the 11th hour – a qualified black candidate like Kendrick Meek.
Bill Clinton did press Kendrick Meek to drop of the Florida Senate race, a Clinton spokesperson confirms to the Miami Herald. However, no mention in the Herald report of whether Meek twice agreed to drop out then changed his mind both times, as Politico reported.
It’s the second point that seems key. Clinton pressing Meek to endorse Crist is interesting but not terribly surprising given the poll numbers. But if it’s confirmed that Meek went so far as to agree to the deal before changing his mind, it’s hard to see how Meek can be back out on the hustings tomorrow asking for votes.
Why does this all matter? The polls clearly show Marco Rubio set to win Tuesday, with Crist finishing second and Meek a distant third. Meek’s withdrawal could throw enough votes to Crist for him to overtake Rubio and deny the Republicans a Senate seat.
Kendrick Meek is announcing at a hastily arranged press conference that he’s still in the Florida Senate race and is not dropping out: “The press report that’s out there is inaccurate at best.”
Beware the zombie voters! Rachel Slajda looks at one Virginia tea partier’s plan to prevent Democrats from stealing the election by voting under the names of the dead.
Republican sources tell Brian Beutler they expect a relatively orderly and ordinary transition for the new leadership if Republicans win back the House.