Marco Rubio raises nearly $1 million

[ccharles000]

Charlie Crist ought to start worrying. The Marco Rubio campaign says the underdog Republican candidate Natrev for U.S. Senate raised nearly $1 million in the last fundraising quarter — a giant improvement over his last quarter and a number sure to help eliminate doubts about his viability.

"It says to me that Marco Rubio is going to be the next senator from Florida, and it should say to a lot of other people that Marco Rubio is a very, very formidable candidate," said senior adviser Pat Shortridge, who did not have an estimate on how much money Rubio has on hand.

Charlie Crist has not yet released a number, but supporters are speculating he will raise at least $2 million. of course, the last time Crist allies floated a number like that he reported raising more than $4 million.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/10/marco-rubio-raises-nearly-1million.html

[iceman66]

1. Has any credible Democratic candidate for the seat emerged yet?

Or is the national party just going to give up on an open seat in a state that Obama won last year?

[ccharles000]

2. rep.meek is ok

[Scurrilous]

3. One of his backers just got popped:

Broward fundraiser's indictment portrays a life of sex, lies, power

<snip>

"Mendelsohn, who declined to be interviewed after his court appearance and did not return a phone message at his home Friday, is described by many political observers as a smart doctor consumed with the power of politics.

He frequently referred to politics as ``smash-mouth football'' and would talk about going after political rivals with baseball bats, Tallahassee insiders said. He used to say that raising money for politicians and then pumping them for favors was like ``trading baseball cards,'' they said.

Mendelsohn displayed remarkable bravado, say those who know him. When he resigned as legislative director for the Florida Society of Ophthalmologists in February, Mendelsohn was fully aware he was under investigation by the Justice Department. Yet, the following month, Mendelsohn, a Republican, hosted a fundraiser at his home for former GOP House Speaker Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate bid.

"If we help Marco Rubio become elected to the U.S. Senate, he could easily serve several decades, gaining rank, while being a staunch ally of ours," Mendelsohn e-mailed potential donors invited to the reception."

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1265639.html