DEBATE FACT #4: Crist Left The Republican Party After Taking A Poll

What Crist Said…

That he left the Republican Party out of principle and would have done it even if he was up in the polls, but Crist doesn’t say he took a poll first.

The Facts About The Crist Record…

It Was A Poll That Solidified Crist’s Decision To Leave The Republican Party And Run As An Independent. “Gov. Charlie Crist pushes back from his desk at the Capitol, slides off tortoiseshell reading glasses and flips open a cell phone. ‘Hey buddy,’ he says, ‘any knowledge?’ Crist is eager for news from his pollster. Taken two days before, the survey shows him winning a three-way race for U.S. Senate. The moment – 11:12 a.m. Wednesday – solidifies Crist’s decision to run as an independent, a stunning repudiation of his lifelong union with the Republican Party. … Talk turns back to that pivotal phone call he got earlier in the day, the one about the poll. The results showed him getting 36 percent of the vote, over Republican Marco Rubio (28) and Democrat Kendrick Meek (23). ‘I want the people to be happy,’ Crist says. ‘I want to be able to please them.’ The comfort he takes in the survey is ironic, as polling forced Crist to this dramatic point. As a Republican, he was losing by double digits to the conservative Rubio. Crist says those polls focus on a small segment of voters, a ‘club within a club.’” (Alex Leary, “Crist’s Last 24 Hours As Republican,” St. Petersburg Times, 5/2/10)

The Wall Street Journal: “One Crist adviser said the governor conducted his own poll earlier this week to assess his chances in a three-way race.” (Peter Wallsten And Valerie Bauerlein, “Crist Looks To Go It Alone,” The Wall Street Journal, 4/29/10)

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