TAMPA, Florida (CNN) - It appears the ongoing speculation about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's political future will come to an end Thursday evening in St. Petersburg.
The embattled Senate candidate has scheduled a campaign event in his hometown, in which he is expected to announce whether he intends to remain a Republican or seek the office as an independent.
Crist's campaign is calling it "a candidate qualifying event," but is not saying what the governor intends to announce. As of Tuesday, some GOP sources close to Crist were not sure if the governor had even made up his mind about his next step.
Crist trails his GOP primary opponent Marco Rubio badly in the polls and has signaled in recent weeks that he is pivoting away from Republican dogma and moving toward an independent bid.
On Tuesday, for instance, after doing a fly-over of the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, he told reporters that he is backing off his support for offshore drilling.
Thursday's event in the voter-rich Tampa area - which happens to be the state's biggest media market - will take place in Straub Park in downtown St. Petersburg.
From CNN Politics
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Remain a Republican? He's never been a Republican. His only interest is in being elected, to anything.
rubio world will b rocked
Go for it. You'll then be permitted to speak in complete sentences to your audience as opposed to trying to pacify the right with moronic sound bites on non-existent crisis like death panels.
Go independant and I'll contribute to you!
"Republican dogma" has become so insane that the closer one's position is to Atilla the Hun, Nathaniel Bedford Forrest or Timothy McVeigh, the more likely one would win a republican primary.
This is the price to pay when their leaders are Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
Say goodbye to Charlie the republican and hello to Charlie the Independent (who will likely vote with democrats a lot)
The problem is that all the people running for senator and governor are all corrupt and selfish greedy hypocrites. When will we have a real choice?
Start the revolution!
Crist you need to crap or get off the pot..
This is an absolute shame for the GOP. This guy draws so many moderate and cross-over votes. We can only hope that the American voter sends the GOP and their created and PHONY Tea-Partiers a strong national message this coming Nov. Mark is as close to the Hispanics as I am to Martians. Really....just ashame !!!
Best guess is that he will move from the right wing tea bagging GOP politics of Marco Rubio and instead run as an Independent.
Good for him, we need more moderate ideas. Anytime one Republican moves away from the bunch the sees war as the do it for what ails America, it is a plus.
The less of the right wing nuts there is the better off the country is and the world for that matter.
We do not need another no, no, no,no to come to congress to make it worse than it already is. Rubio needs to stay in Florida where he can be close to his grass roots.
If he is coming to DC as a Mitch McConnell variety he need not come. The traffic jams are already stressful enough, we do not more gridlock in the politics.
This guy's political life is finished; the moment he hugged the Kenyan/Indonesian and accepted stimulus money from him it was curtains. He has no future in politics, only as an "appointee" of the regime's "leader."
Good for him, we need more moderate ideas. Anytime one Republican moves away from the bunch the sees war as the fix it all for whatever ails America, it is a plus.
The less of the right wing nuts there are the better off the country is and the world for that matter.
We do not need another no, no, no,no voter to come to congress to make it worse than it already is. Rubio needs to stay in Florida where he can be close to his grass roots and keep them firmly rooted there.
If he is coming to DC as a Mitch McConnell variety of Republican, he need not come, the traffic jams are already stressful enough, we do not more gridlock in the politics. We need problem solvers not obstructionists for simple political gain.
come on Charlie run as an Independent, we can use a few more independently minded Senators, the way it should be....both Republican and Democrat......
Isn't there some way that both Crist and Rubio can lose. Then Florida could simply not have a Republican candidate for Senator. After all, Florida owes us for the 2000 thing. Look what a mess they got us into.
Of course, no one from Texas can look down on the elected officials of any other state – well, maybe South Carolina.
I really hope he runs as an Independant. He seems to be a reasonable man.
Run, Charlie, Run! We need more Independents in Congress.
It appears he may join Katherine Harris under the Florida express bus – remember her? She engineered the 2000 presidential election for George W. Bush and later (when no longer needed) couldn't get a seat (to save her political life) on the same stage as the man whom she made president. An odd and unsentimental bunch to say the least.
I seriously hope he runs as an Independent in Florida. He's a good leader, and Florida needs him. Go for it, Charlie!
Hopefully he goes the independent route. He really saved education here in Florida by vetoing the latest nonsense. Republicans also dislike him because he hugged Obama and accepted stimulus money? Really? Hopefully Crist calls out the Republicans for all their nonsense. This poll that the news talks about which claims Crist is poorly trailing Rubio, was taken before he vetoed the education bill. Take the poll now and I promise you he will have the support of many democratic teachers!
the minute you hugged Obozo you were done Charlie...give it up
never a republican again