Word is that Florida Governor Charlie Crist is continuing to “lean toward neutrality.” If his endorsement is going to do the endorsee any good, it had better come soon. Particularly with all the early voting going on.
Time’s Mark Halperin appears to be predicting, or suggesting, a last minute endorsement of McCain. (Sen. Mel Martinez’s long-expected endorsement of his immigration deal partner McCain is now official.)
Crist’s endorsement has the Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster of this cycle. Rumors keep cropping up that it has been sighted, or its appearance is imminent, and then it disappears before anyone can verify…
UPDATE: Crist does make his endorsement… it’s McCain.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Florida Gov. Charlie Crist endorsed a beaming Sen. John McCain on Saturday night, delivering a boost three days before the state’s pivotal primary.
Crist praised McCain as a “true American hero.” At a campaign appearance in St. Petersburg, he added, “After thinking about it as much as I have, I don’t think anybody would do better than the man who stands next to me, Sen. John McCain.”
It was the second high-profile endorsement in as many days for McCain, who is locked in a tight primary race with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Crist stepped to the podium a little more than 24 hours after Sen. Mel Martinez announced he was backing his colleague in the Senate. Officials said Martinez had prodded the governor to follow his lead.