Poll Confirms the Obvious: Kendrick Meek's Campaign a Disaster for Florida Democrats

By Thomas Francis Thu., Jun. 10 2010 at 10:34 AM

Categories: Florida, Politics

Flickr: maximas.prime

There's nothing particularly dynamic about the U.S. Senate campaign being run by Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene -- except when you compare it to the one by Miami Congressman Kendrick Meek. Greene doesn't really have a message, unless you count his constant bellyaching about "career politicians." This is a guy whose primary qualification, it seems, is that he's not qualified for politics.

And yet this newly released Quinnipiac poll shows that the neophyte Greene has nearly pulled even with Meek, who had almost a year's head start. Meek has 29 percent of the primary vote, compared to Greene's 27 percent, with Maurice Ferre at 3 percent and a whopping 37 percent who

can't bear to throw their support to any of these candidates. Who can blame them?

This is an indictment of the poor job Florida Democrats have done grooming candidates. They've known for years that Mel Martinez could be picked off in 2010. They should have identified a rising star by then, preferably a candidate with a more compelling narrative than a career politician who's the son of a career politician and who has never had to win a tough race.

After Crist declared he'd run as an independent, this was a three-way campaign. Not anymore. Florida will choose between a right-wing Republican and centrist Republican. The Democrats will stay on the sidelines.