Quinnipiac University released a poll this morning with some interesting news: Hitherto little-known colonel Michael McCalister now leads the field in the Florida Senate GOP primary.

In the poll, 53 percent of Republicans are still undecided about their preferred candidate. But 15 percent say they support McCalister, while 12 percent pick LeMieux, and 6 percent choose Adam Hasner. McCalister spoke with National Review Online a few days ago. In light of this news, I wanted to share with you more of his thoughts.

First, McCalister tells me he’s a “believer in the ‘Cut, Cap, and Balance’ [pledge].” Although he insists we didn’t need to raise the debt ceiling, he believes, “We need a balanced-budget amendment and a supermajority requirement to raise taxes.”

He’s also a supporter of Paul Ryan’s budget. “Do I think his plan is perfect? No. But I think it’s a great starting point.”

“I have a doctorate in business management and I have taught many, many MBA classes,” McCalister says. “I think we need to run our country like a business. . . . We need more serious tort reform, we need lower taxes, and we need less regulation.”

But one thing McCalister emphasizes is our relationship with China. The U.S. needs to get serious about protecting its intellectual property. “We can’t let other countries steal that. Nobody’s talking about that, but that’s a serious issue.”

That foreign-policy expertise is lacking in the Senate, McCalister argues. Take Libya, for instance. When asked whether we should end our efforts there, McCalister replies, “That’s a question that sounds as if it should have an easy answer. But the reason we’re there is because of our NATO treaty, which was a blank check. If we just walk away, we go back on our word. A lot of people think it’s a U.N. deal, but it’s NATO. That’s why these treaties are so important. We’ve got to put people in the Senate who really see what they’re signing.”

That said, McCalister has a less defined position on Afghanistan. He says simply, “What we need to do is listen to commanders on the ground.”

But he’s clearer about the Department of Education: “I would like to either abolish it or change it significantly. I don’t really see a need for it.”

And on illegal immigration, he says: “If you’re in the country you need to be here legally, if you work here you need to be in the tax system.”

McCalister also hopes the Supreme Court will reinterpret its precedent on the Fourteenth Amendment to be less forgiving of the law’s transgressors. “I’m concerned on what they’re going to do interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. When there’s someone whose parents are here illegally — under the Fourteenth Amendment, does it really state that you are a citizen?”

Ultimately, McCalister believes his military experience qualifies him to represent the Sunshine State in the Senate. “We’ve got to take a look under the Constitution at the very unique role of the U.S. Senate. You’re hiring people for a job to do things no other elected officials do. Only the Senate confirms senior military leaders, and I think we need people who have serious credentials in the military.”