For days pundits have been talking about Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s action on a Republican-sponsored teacher tenure/merit pay bill as a potential indicator of whether he would run as an independent or continue his sink into oblivion in the Republican Senatorial primary.
Signing the bill would be viewed as an attempt to score points with the Florida Republican establishment, while vetoing it would be a coup to the Democrats and teacher groups who opposed it, and a strong signal that Crist was looking to position himself in the political center for an independent run.
Well, Crist has vetoed the bill. Yesterday I would have said there was a one-in-three chance he’d run as an independent. Today I’d say its better than two-in-three.
UPDATE: Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) warns Crist against an independent bid:
“I would think that would be the end of his political career as a Republican,” Cornyn, chairman of the NRSC, told POLITICO. “So I doubt that will happen. My hope is that this is all resolved in the Republican primary by Florida voters.”