Charlie Crist's 'Democrat' gamble

last updated 8 January 2015

Just days after ditching the GOP to launch an independent Senate bid, Charlie Crist is shaking up the political world again. On NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, Florida's governor said he might caucus with the Democrats if he wins the race: "You have to go with your gut and with your heart." The remarks earned criticism from Marco Rubio, Crist's erstwhile rival for the Republican nomination — who says it's clear Crist changes direction "based upon what the polling tells him" — and from Hot Air's Ed Morrissey. "How many independents does [Crist] think he’ll win by assuring them that he’ll vote to maintain the status quo...Crist has become a Party of One, trying to join a Caucus of One." Maybe, says Lesley Clark of McClatchy Newspapers, but Crist's gamble will work if he wins and both parties desperately court his vote. Watch an excerpt from Crist's "Meet the Press" interview below: