Florida's GOP Governor to run as an Independent

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said that he WILL be mounting an independent run for U.S. Senate, after the head of the GOP's re-election committee declared that the governor has "zero chance" to win as a Republican. He made the comments after Rob Jesmer of the National Republican Senatorial Committee wrote in an e-mail Monday that Crist should drop out of the race completely if he believes he can't win the primary. "We believe there is zero chance Governor Crist continues running in the Republican primary," Jesmer wrote in the memo to party officials and fund-raisers in Florida and Washington. Jesmer said the committee is prepared to support former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio if Crist runs as an independent. According to recent polls, Crist trails Tea Party favorite Rubio by an average of nearly 23 points.A three-way race would pit Crist and Rubio against Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek.