Florida Governor’s Race and Medical Marijuana

While America is following the national races for the Senate, here in Florida we are in a very close race for governor. The candidates are incumbent Republican Governor Rick Scott and former Governor Charlie Crist. When Crist was governor of Florida (2007-2011) he was elected as a Republican. He did not seek re-election as governor in 2010, instead setting his sights on a seat in the U. S. Senate. After being defeated in the primary by Republican Marco Rubio, Crist switched parties and declared himself an Independent to challenge Rubio and was defeated in the general election.

Following his loss in his run for the Senate, Charlie Crist was hired as a trial lawyer and works for John Morgan at his Morgan and Morgan law firm.

An interesting dynamic is occurring in this race, as Florida also has a ballot initiative for legalization of medical marijuana known as Amendment 2. This amendment has been heavily pushed for passage by Charlie Crist’s employer, John Morgan, and is bringing out younger conservative Republican/Libertarian and Democratic voters who support Amendment 2.

While this amendment purports to legalize medical marijuana, the language of the bill is so poorly crafted most Republicans will vote against it. Passage of this bill requires sixty percent of the vote since it is a Florida constitutional amendment. The likelihood of it passing is low. However, the heavily funded Get Out The Vote campaign for Amendment 2 will bring many more Democrats to the polls than usually anticipated in a mid-term election, most of whom will also vote for Charlie Crist.

A third party candidate, Libertarian Andrew Wyllie, has garnered nearly ten percent in the polls, leaving Crist and Scott nearly tied.

Conservative Libertarians who vote for Adrian Wyllie because of his and their support for the legalization of marijuana, or because of his opposition to the Common Core State Standards, will take much needed votes from Governor Rick Scott and could very well swing the vote and elect Charlie Crist as the new governor of Florida.

While many Tea Party Republicans are disappointed in Governor Scott’s support for the Common Core State Standards, they know that if Crist wins this election the chances to eliminate Common Core from our schools will be greatly diminished.

One thing is certain. Charlie Crist has finally settled into his niche. He is a true blue, progressive Democrat in lock-step with President Barack Obama, ready to embrace his climate change and socialist agenda. If Crist becomes governor, Florida will be on a path to be the next California.