Mr. Crist bypassed well known Republicans in favor of selecting his former campaign manager and chief of staff George LeMieux. The 40-year-old Mr. LeMieux ran Mr. Crist’s campaign for governor in 2006 and is famous for saying about Mr. Crist that “we make decisions together,” adding that “he’s the senior partner and I’m the junior partner.” He quickly said he has no plans to run for Senate in his own right and has declared that “the Charlie Crist way” is “the way we need to address things in Washington.”
What that means on crucial legislation is anyone’s guess, given Mr. Crist’s protean politics. The governor has driven private property and casualty insurers out of the state by expanding a government-favored public option for hurricane insurance. He also made a show of endorsing President Obama’s $800 billion “stimulus” earlier this year. With a health-care public option in the balance in coming weeks, no one seems to know how Mr. LeMieux might vote.
Mr. Crist is running for Senate in his own right next year, and he faces a primary challenge from former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, who called the choice of Mr. LeMieux “disappointing.” Democrats called it “political cronyism” and it’s hard to disagree. Florida voters have a right to expect more than a mini-me appointee to serve for 16 months in what could be a momentous Congress. Mr. Crist’s Senate choice is another reason to wonder if his principles extend beyond his own political ambitions.
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