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.

Mack on Hold?

Connie Mack IV (R), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, appears to be hedging on his Senate run - at least outwardly proclaiming that he would defer to a Charlie Crist run for the Senate. Mack is an attractive candidate for the Senate for many reasons: solid conservative credentials with a few well-known moderate stances, political experience, high name ID (largely owed to his family), and decent fundraising ability. He is dutifully waiting on the leader of the party in the State, and did the same for Jeb. While this many not strike the general public as the strongest qualities of a leader - this kind of deference goes a long way toward appeasing the party faithful (generally a prerequisite for a primary run).

First in the water

While names have been dropping off the radar screen (Jeb Bush, Alex Sink, Joe Scarborough), the first serious candidate (one with significant electoral experience) has entered the race. House Member Kendrick Meek (D) has announced his candidacy in the Democratic primary run for the Martinez seat. Meek represents Florida's 17th District in Congress, a district that stretches from North Miami to Hollywood, just inland off the coast. Meek, despite some low name ID statewide could be a formidable candidate. He hails from a well connected political family (Meek's mother Carrie had been the previous office-holder from the same district), he spent eight years in the Florida legislature (both House and Senate), and serves on the Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. House (one of the so-called "prestige" committees). Meek could also bring together the Democratic Party in Florida. He was an early backer of Senator Clinton in the Presidential primary (certainly made notable largely because Meek is African-American and hails from a predominantly black district), but has now hired Steve Hildebrand - Obama's deputy campaign manager. And massive money raiser (and spender) Chris Korge appears to be an early backer as well.