Endorsements

Jeb Bush Jr., son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee have come out to endorse Marco Rubio over Charlie Crist in the Republican U.S. Senate primary. Governor Crist has been endorsed by Senators John Cornyn (TX), Mitch McConnell (KY), John McCain (AZ), Mel Martinez (FL), and now Lindsay Graham (SC).

Endorsements are more about positioning (Crist to the center and Rubio to the right) than anything meaningful, when the candidates are well-known. Dog-catcher races might be more susceptible to the power of an endorsement, but the U.S. Senate is probably a different story.

Governor to Senator?

Despite pleas from Senator Cornyn (R-TX), head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman (basically the Senator in charge of all of the 2010 races) for Charlie Crist to enter the fray, money should not be put on this guy to run. He avoids the trappings of term-limits, but the transition from Executive to Legislator is not always so easy. In fact, the Republicans may be losing two Senators this cycle who will return home to run for Governor (Brownback-KS and Hutchison-TX). These jobs call for very different skill sets and desire for the klieg lights. Governor Crist's response to how much interest he has in the seat? "Not much."