Floridian Republicans may have a difficult time choosing who to vote for in this years Senate race. Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and Florida's speaker of the house Marco Rubio are both running on the Republican ticket, but have considerably different political views.
Crist is considered to be a moderate Republican. According to Time, he has kept his approval ratings high by governing from the middle.
"He has stocked his administration with Democrats, appointed a fairly liberal African-American Democrat to the state supreme court, expanded voting rights for felons, crusaded against global warming and enthusiastically supported President Obama's stimulus package," Time reports. All of these are considered to be liberal ideals for a Republican. Many Floridian Republicans believe this is a shift toward a more bi-partisan government, which is a draw for many people.
Rubio believes in governing differently.
"He electrified the crowds with eloquent arguments for tea-party principles," Time says. "He attacked deficits in general and the stimulus in particular as Euro-socialist assaults on his kids. He clamored for term limits, states' rights and the abolition of the estate tax. He attacked government-run health care, warned that cap and trade would leave us with a "Third World economy," and noted that the words "separation of church and state" were nowhere in our founding documents." These are all considered Conservative ideals which resounds well with many right wing constituents.
As of now, polls show Crist with a strong lead in the polls, but time will tell whether Floridians want a more traditionally conservative government, or if there will be a shift toward bi-partisanship.
