FL-Gov: Chiles Says He’ll Run as an Independent

Bud Chiles, the son of legendary Democratic ex-Gov. Lawton Chiles, says that he’s taking the Charlie Crist path:

Lawton “Bud” Chiles III, the son of the late governor, announced Thursday that he plans to run for governor as an independent candidate. …

“The two parties are not the solution,” he said. “They’re caught up in this high-stakes game that pits big money against big money and leaves ordinary Floridians on the sidelines.”

Chiles said he made his decision after he met with Sink and she told him she plans to raise $30 million on the race. Democrats likely won’t be pleased with Chiles’ move, as it could set him up as a spoiler candidate who would draw votes away from Sink.

With Chiles’ presence in the independent column, SSP is adjusting our rating of the Florida gubernatorial race to Lean R from Tossup. The fact of the matter is that Sink was struggling long before Chiles announced his interest in the race, and that left her with no margin for error in a general election:

It’s also possible that Chiles will attract a number of Dixiecrat voters who might have otherwise pulled the lever for McCollum, or that Chiles will simply drop out of the race after a few months of reality, but it’s time that we acknowledge that the playing field is tilted in the wrong direction here.

7 thoughts on “FL-Gov: Chiles Says He’ll Run as an Independent”

  2. I’m sorry I just don’t see Chiles getting his message out there enough to take away from Sink. She has the money advantage and the only reason it’s been like it as is because McCollum is well known in the state, Sink hasn’t. Her support is very strong and once she gets up on tv, will be very formidable.

    I do however think now is the time for her to get up on TV.

  3. The Senate race gets a lot more attention nationally and state-wide, so I would expect that to affect turn-out in the gubernatorial race. The voters who will be especially motivated are those who hate Crist and are determined to see him defeated, and they obviously will be voting for McCollum after voting for Rubio. Sink and Chiles will be splitting the less-motivated moderate and Dem vote, just like Crist and Meek (although Crist could still win, unlike Chiles, who is just a spoiler). I expect both races to go Republican, probably by a comfortable margin. Florida never seems to have good news for liberals.  

  4. I guess he hopes to take a ride on Crist’s coattails, if he has any.  Don’t think that will happen.  Wonder what his father would say.

  5. Has done well in the Tallahassee area in the past (and McCollum has done poorly there,) I would see Sink winning many counties in that area. See my diary on Sink vs. McCollum baselines for more on that subject: http://swingstateproject.com/d…

    The links there show the exact results for McCollum’s and Sink’s recent elections.

    Sink needs to keep McCollum’s margins down in the rural areas but if Chiles takes alot of votes up there, it could hurt Sink because she should do well with those swing voters.  

Comments are closed.