Permit me to throw a bit of cold water on those who think Crist’s independent bid turns Democrat Kendrick Meek into the odds-on favorite: Here is a list of Meek’s percentage of the vote in six polls on this scenario since November: 31, 24, 27, 25, 24, 22. He has led none of them, he is in third place in four of them.

In other words, he needs to build on his current level of support. Crist’s independent bid splits the existing Republican vote, but there so far hasn’t been enough Meek backers to get him a win under either scenario.