Gov. Crist appeals to middle to stay popular
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ Republican Gov. Charlie Crist recently told a group of his peers he supports President-elect Barack Obama and called for unity with other Democrats.
For Crist, it wasn’t just a tip of the hat to Democrats after they took the White House and built on their majorities in Congress, it was a reaffirmation of the centrist politics that have kept him popular even as the Republican Party and the economy sink.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday shows 68 percent of Florida voters approve of the job Crist is doing, and only 18 percent disapprove. Those numbers include approval from 60 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of independents polled.
Crist is still hugely popular largely because he has avoided partisan attacks and divisive issues in favor of a message that focuses on inclusiveness, optimism and addressing pocketbook issues that affect people across all income levels.
In a moment of contrast at the Republican Governors Association conference last week in Miami, the Republican vice presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin poked fun at Obama and told her peers they need to keep an eye on him and Democrats in Congress.
Crist told the same group, “The people want leaders who will work together to solve the difficult problems facing our nation. While he was not my candidate, Senator Obama is now my president and he has my support.”
“He is delivering a different message. His message is one of whatever political party that can provide the results for the citizens is the party that’s going to prevail,” said state Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer. “Simply getting up and saying Democrats are bad won’t get the party any new support or to continue to grow, you have to focus on the issues of the day and what the voters want.”
The numbers are particularly impressive considering:
— Crist played a highly visible role in supporting Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who lost Florida.
— Homeowners still think high property taxes and insurance rates are a problem.
— Florida has its highest unemployment rate in 14 years.
— Property values are dropping and the state has one of the highest foreclosure rates.
“Gov. Crist is amazingly popular. In good times, there are governor’s who don’t do as well as Crist is in the public opinion polls,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of Quinnipiac’s polling institute. “He offers an approach to governing that doesn’t alienate people ideologically.”
The poll of 1,361 Florida voters was conducted Nov. 11-16. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
Brown says the poll shows Crist is in very good shape if he seeks re-election in 2010. But Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said a poll question that asked if the election were held today, who would respondents vote for, shows Crist is vulnerable.
The poll showed 50 percent of respondents would vote for Crist against an unknown Democrat, 28 percent would vote for a Democrat and 23 percent said they don’t know.
“Floridians are recognizing that Charlie Crist, for all his optimism, hasn’t done his job. He takes more time off than any previous governor,” Jotkoff said. “He still has yet to lay out a plan to fix Florida’s economy.”
Now that the presidential election is over, Jotkoff said Democrats will focus their attention on a mass communication effort against Crist.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.