On Saturday the Tampa Tribune's William March reported that in 2009, after sitting Florida U.S. Senator Mel Martinez announced he was bailing on his seat, George LeMieux convinced Charlie Crist to reverse a decision to appoint Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp to the seat, using “a strategy that included direct pressure on Crist."
March listed embattled former GOP state chair Jim Greer as his primary source for the report, and predictably, Connie Mack has pounced on it, issuing a press release later on Saturday that LeMieux "may have used pressure to extort Charlie Crist into giving him a seat in the United States Senate” and compared LeMieux unfavorably to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Need we remind you that LeMieux was Crist's chief of staff at that time, which has been a major impediment for his candidacy in a Florida Republican Party that absolutely disdains the former governor?
Meanwhile, a new Republican has entered the Senate race. Former Melbourne area Congressman Dave Weldon announced on Friday he's now running, as he unveiled a web ad that took aim at President Obama for raising the debt.
