Charlie Crist Expected to Run as an Independent in Florida Senate Race

AP

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is expected to announce tomorrow that he will drop out the Republican primary for Senate against Marco Rubio and instead run as an independent.

If that does indeed come true, here are eight questions that political analysts and others will want to know next:

1. Does he describe himself as an independent Republican, or does he disavow his party? Does he brand himself like Joe Lieberman did -- someone who remains faithful to the core principles of his party but bemoans the fact that the party has gone away from him?

2. Who runs the campaign? A mass exodus of staffers are expected, and it'll be hard to find any prominent Republican or Democratic consulting firm in Florida that would take Crist on as a client. He has $7 million in the bank, which may be enough financial motivation to lure bipartisan firms into the mix. But Crist will NOT have his pick of the best consultants, and he will be losing the services of one the GOP's top pollsters, Glen Bolger.

3. Does Crist's move reconfirm people's impression that Charlie Crist looks out for Charlie Crist, and that his wishy-washiness is reason enough not to give him the benefit of the doubt?

4. What does Crist do between now and the end his term as governor? The legislature is not in session, but Crist can negotiate deals on his own, and he can issue executive orders.

5. Does Crist's decision to run as an independent keep Florida teachers on the sidelines? They'd tend to endorse the Democratic candidate, Kendrick Meek, but Crist has been a stalwart ally of Florida teachers unions, and they might reward him by staying neutral.

6. Does Crist peel off a few percentage points worth of black and Hispanic voters from Meek and Rubio? This sounds like a crass way to put it, but consider: Crist is well liked by black voters in the state, and he'll certainly make a strong play for Puerto Rican-Americans in Central Florida -- not Rubio's natural constituency. If Crist keeps independent white voters in play and does enough peeling, he's in a good position.

7. Do Obama's approval ratings in the state rise or fall? They're in the high forties now -- just a few points below his election percentage and higher than in other states.

8. How does Rubio resist the forces that will pull him to the right? He's certainly an extremely dexterous politician, but he has yet to deal with Crist as an independent foil.

More on the Florida Senate race from CBSNews.com:

Rubio Files Papers; Crist Decision Comes Thursday
Charlie Crist: How Would He Do as an Independent?
Charlie Crist Pulls TV Ads, Increasing Speculation About Campaign's Future

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The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder is CBS News' chief political consultant. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter.

[jsilver2th]

Ha Ha- oh boy another chapter in How the Conservatives Destroyed the Republican Party! A laugh a minute. Hey Rubio what's DeMint orders today? HA HA

[Mortar_29]

Ha....what??

[Palin_for_Presidentess]

The expression -- "Rats leaving a sinking ship" comes to mind.

[jem0309]

Go Crist 2010!!!!

This is EXACTLY what our country needs. As long as the fringe right trys to take down any member who is somewhat bipartisan, we need more of them to leave the party and run as independents. I believe this trend will continue in the next few years. Having more bipartisan and independent office-holders is the only chance we have of balancing budgets and finding real solutions.

the gop is nothing but reactionary, partisan and pandering to the fringe elements in attempts to demonize the dems and obama for the sake of taking back control. they accomplished nothing to solve any of our problems in bush' eight years, and now they are doing their best to slither their way back into power with no new ideas but rather an obstructionist agenda. they oppose financial reform and are doing their best to water down any proposals the dems have. when will americans wake up and realize which party as we know it will never fight for them but only for the fat cats and big money?

[Mortar_29]

Silly.

[CHReed]

mortar - your knee-jerk partisan comments are making you irrelevant?

[MerrellObrian]

Oh yeah! The red wings are getting all wound up! Better look out, cause them Tea Baggers are in fully force...like they were when they called themselves Republican and Obama took Florida. Since then, Fox News has radicalized good people into believing Liberals and Democrats are evil. It's like watching someone who believes they are totally invisible stalking about as if they can't be seen. We see you Fox News. The world sees who you really are, and you'll see Crist win in November. This is one Florida voter who won't let Crist down.

[Mortar_29]

Not one word of truth in your post.

[proman24]

There's no room in the Republican party for people who think for themselves. If you don't obey the masters, you're out.

[Mortar_29]

So, because Republicansd would rather vote for a different guy, there is a problem?

[jxknowles]

I like this move and I wish more politicians on both sides would follow suit. While I am firmly in the Democratic camp on most issues, I support balanced budgets, surpluses, prudent spending, fiscal responsibility and good money management. I've worked with Republicans and Democrats alike who can get that job done.

[Mortar_29]

So, I take it you did not support the healthcare boondoggle that just passed.

[SueZeeeQue]

The reason why Republicans turned on Christ is that he was willing to work with Democrats.

Having a bipartisan spirit is a sin in the Republican party of NO.

[Mortar_29]

Well, neither one of you are even close to the truth.

[stn_sage]

There's something wrong, when a candidate can't get elected
in his party of choice, so---
he 'flips' to another party out of strategic necessity,
and does or stands a good chance of getting elected!

In this case, WHOSE values is he actually representing?!
As far as I can see...nobody's! He's strictly a 'hired gun'!
For WHOSE benefit will he serve? The public's? Maybe...!

[SueZeeeQue]

As long as he stops another extreme right wing nut from getting elected, he's doing the state and the country a service.

[stn_sage]

SueZeeeQue: Yes! I know and understand that argument. The problem is, hired guns tend to be reasonable and responsible one day, but not on another! In fact, they can, on occasion, make the right-wing wacko
look perfectly acceptable! But, maybe he's an atypical politician
and will represent the best interest of the public, for a change!

We can only hope so!

[stychokiller]

Looking at this from Minnesota, I can only say that this Guy would probably dress up like Bozo the Clown if he thought it would get him elected.

[nearl451]

I guess Minnesota has had it's share of chameleons with Pawlenty and "The Bod" before him.

[armyoftwelve]

This really isn't news until he actually decides to run as an independent.

[CHReed]

He really wont be running as an independent since that is actually a registered party in Florida. What Gov Crist will be doing is running as a NPA (No Party Affilliation).