No Love for Rubio Amongst Florida RNC Members
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(Honolulu, HI) - FrumForum talked with all three of Florida's RNC members and found a dearth of support for Marco Rubio's senatorial campaign. On the other hand, two of the Florida members came out strongly in favor Governor Charlie Crist.
Paul Senft, the National Committeeman from Florida, responded to Rubio's campaign, who he criticized for labeling Charlie Crist as insufficiently conservative:
I think everyone has a responsibility, before they say [Crist is not conservative enough], to learn about him. I would hope that they would focus on being positive about their candidate rather than negative about [Crist].
Senft's praise for Governor Crist, on the other hand, was effusive. "Charlie Crist is a very skilled and experienced politician, and he will stay on a conservative message of less taxes and less government," said Senft.
Jim Greer, in the process of being pushed out of his position as Florida state chair by Rubio supporters, saw the Governor's struggling campaign as a function of his duties as Governor:
The Governor just needs to keep doing what he's been doing, which is governing... when the time is right, he'll begin aggressively campaigning for the office of senator. But the Governor is putting Floridians first, before campaigning. He's doing what Floridians elected him to do, which is govern. When the time is appropriate, he will become actively engaged in the campaign.
Senft also said that Marco Rubio didn’t have to deal with the same realities of governing that Governor Crist has to deal with:
Mr. Rubio... has not served as Commissioner of Education, has not served as Attorney General... and has not had to make as many appointments and make as many decisions as Governor Crist. It's a long time until the primaries... No one knows how Rubio would have acted under the Governor's circumstances.
Both Senft and Greer had proposed a Rule 11 letter, which allows the RNC to take sides in a primary campaign if all three state members of the RNC sign it. Florida National Committeewoman Sharon Day was the lone holdout, preventing RNC funding from going to Crist’s campaign.
But in a discussion with FrumForum, Day refused to endorse Rubio. “I’m going to support whatever candidate comes out of that primary,” said Day. “Whether it be Marco Rubio, whether it be the Governor, what I’m going to do is make sure that our team is ready to carry them across the finish line.”
In fact, Sharon Day concurred with Senft’s assertion that Crist was temporarily handicapped by his political position: “Charlie Crist is a Governor, and he’s got responsibilities to the state. Rubio has been able to do a lot of things that the Governor hasn’t been able to do.”
That said, despite being pressed, Day declined to pick sides, citing the need for neutrality in an open primary process: “They’re both very good candidates. You’re going to see both candidates do well. Primaries will make whoever wins a better candidate for being challenged.”
The lack of support for Rubio among Florida delegates may soon change. State Senator John Thrasher, a Rubio supporter, is a strong candidate to win the election to replace State Chairman Jim Greer. Sharon Day plans to run against Thrasher, which could leave Florida’s delegation solidly pro-Crist.
Day told FrumForum that she remains hopeful in her chances of winning the State Chairmanship:
I have a long relationship with State Committee members [who are the electorate in this race]. I’ve been a National Committee member for 7 years. They know me... I’m confident.