Florida Election Results: Kendrick Meek Wins

Just when everyone thought he was out, Rep. Kendrick Meek pulled himself back in. After a brutal and expensive surprise primary challenge from billionaire investor Jeff Greene, the AP is reporting that Meek has won the prize he thought he had in his grasp months ago: the Democratic nomination for Senate in Florida.

With 38% of precincts reporting, Meek is leading Greene 55-32. Also-ran former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre has 6% of the vote. Meek is now set to take the stage in a general election fight where, essentially, two men are vying for the Democratic vote -- Meek and Gov. Charlie Crist, who has run hard for Democratic support since abandoning the GOP primary against Marco Rubio.

Before we turn our attention to uphill climb Meek now faces against Crist and Rubio, we should take a moment to note the uphill climb he just completed. Meek was all but written off after Greene's barrage of negative advertising left the relatively unknown Meek down in the polls. But Meek battled back, taking on Greene with tough rhetoric in debates and pulling in help from powerful friends like President Clinton and President Obama. He ran negative ads of his own and likely was overjoyed as media attention quickly deflated the regular-guy image the flamboyant Greene tried to create for himself. Just as he did early in the primary cycle -- when his fundraising prowess cleared the field early -- Meek has shown that he is ready and willing to fight for the nomination.

Unfortunately for him, Meek just got what he's been wishing for.

Almost no one expects Meek to win the whole thing in November. The best that most observers say he can hope for is the role of spoiler, ending Crist's attempts to remake himself as a centrist Democrat and pulling off just enough of the base Democratic vote to hand Rubio a win in the end.

But Meek proved tonight he can overcome a candidate with more money and a lead in the polls. In his acceptance speech tonight, Meek characterized the general election fight as a battle he can win -- largely because he's the only real Democrat running.

"I am running against two conservative candidates that have similar records," Meek told supporters tonight. Meek said he was the only candidate carrying traditional Democratic values into the fall.

"I am the only candidate who supports a woman's right to choose and equal pay for equal work, has fought against privatizing Social Security, and will repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% of Americans and cut taxes for the middle class," he said in a statement released by his campaign after the night was over. In his speech to supporters, he pointed out a number of issues where he has differed from both Crist and Rubio, including public support for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (both Crist and Rubio opposed her nomination, though Crist supported Justice Elena Kagan's nomination after becoming an independent.)

The TPM Poll Average shows Meek running a distant third in the race. He's got just 16.8% of the vote. Crist leads Rubio at the top of the contest, 36.0-33.8.

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Rick Scott Wins

Rick Scott has taken the attention of the whole media towards himself by defeating the State Attorney General Bill McCollum in the recent Gubernatorial Elections. Tuesday was a nightmare for Bill McCollum when it was announced that he had been defeated by the Newcomer Rick Scott who did not knew any political methods of winning the elections. The win of this great personality was very close one and there was only a small difference of just 3 percent votes which were in his favor. Bill who had the support of many high profile politicians such as the former governor of Florida Jeb Bush could not win the elections. On the other hand Rick Scott who only had the support and the votes of the public won the elections.
From all the overall results it has been said that McCollum had 43 percent votes while Rick had 46 percent votes on his side. This victory has become a great source of happiness and excitement for Rick Scott.


According to the media Scott said that the voters now have the mind of their own as they have chosen the right person as their new politician. The elections in this State of Florida have become a good example of righteousness and justice as the people have made the right choice in selecting a capable politician. This narrow victory of Rick Scott has given a lot of confidence to honest politicians who know that they now have the support of the public who will not ruin their efforts.

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Holly Benson

Tallahassee, Fla. – Holly Benson, Republican Candidate for Florida Attorney General, today announced that the Okaloosa County Medical Society, Sarasota County Medical Political Action Committee, Palatka Daily News and Pensacola Independent News have endorsed her in her bid to become the next Attorney General of Florida.

“The Okaloosa County Medical Society is proud to announce its support of Holly Benson for Attorney General in the upcoming 2010 election,” said Carolyn Johnson, executive director of the Okaloosa County Medical Society. “Holly has been a great friend of Medicine and has represented Northwest Florida well over the years in her elected and appointed positions as a public servant.”

“Holly Benson is the most knowledgeable candidate for Attorney General when it comes to health care law,” said Dr. Michael Patete, president of the Sarasota County Medical Political Action Committee. “Now more than ever, we need a State Attorney General with this skill set.”

In their editorial, the Palatka Daily News wrote, “Benson, who has a slight lead among decided voters in the aforementioned poll, is touting a desire to take state government back to basics and says she is the candidate best positioned to carry on current Attorney General Bill McCollum’s challenge of President Obama’s health care reforms. She is a former state legislator and has been in charge of two state agencies, including the Agency for Health Care Administration.”

The Palatka Daily News editorial goes on to say, “We recommend Benson for the nomination. Her experience related to health care issues seems very timely.”

In their endorsement of Holly Benson for the Republican Candidate for Attorney General, the Pensacola Independent News, founded by Joe Scarborough, wrote, “Northwest Florida needs a member on the Florida Cabinet. Benson is our only shot.”

“I am grateful to have the support of so many physicians across the state and of these newspapers,” said Benson. “I am optimistic that on Election Day voters will agree that I am the best qualified candidate to run our party’s ticket to victory in November. We must turn our economy around, fight against federal health care reform and protect our borders – and I am ready to do just that.”

Benson announced her candidacy for Attorney General for the State of Florida on October 29, 2009. Until her announcement, Benson served as Secretary of the AHCA. In that role, Benson worked to significantly reduce Medicaid fraud and to hold health care providers accountable. In addition, she worked to streamline the regulatory process and reduce the regulatory burden for providers and consumers while never compromising the safeguards protecting the health and well-being of patients.

Prior to her appointment as Secretary of the AHCA, she served as Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). As head of DBPR she led a team that improved customer service and reduced the red tape taxes that drive up costs for Florida’s businesses and professionals. The department is responsible for licensing more than 1 million Floridians.

Before her appointment to the Governor’s Cabinet, Benson served the people of Pensacola and Gulf Breeze for six years as their representative in the Florida House of Representatives. During her tenure in the legislature, Benson earned a reputation for tackling tough issues. As Chair of the Select Committee on Article V, she led the successful reorganization of the state court system. As Chair of the Committee on State Administration, she updated the state’s procurement code. In addition, as Chair of the Health and Families Council she addressed the tough health care access issues that touch the lives of all Floridians.

Benson is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Florida College of Law. She practiced municipal bond law with Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. from 1996 to her appointment as Secretary of the DBPR in 2007.

Benson has served on the Florida Council of 100, the Council on Efficient Government and the Board of Directors of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation. She is a member of First Methodist Church and a former member of the Downtown Rotary. Benson also served on the Board of Directors for the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science and the Board of Directors of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce.

For more information on the Holly Benson for Attorney General Campaign, please visit www.hollybenson.com.

Contact: Sarah Bascom
(850) 294-6636
or Kristen Bridges
(850) 545-1917

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