Senate Conservatives Fund — Will Charlie Crist Switch Parties?

Last year, Senator Arlen Specter switched parties in Pennsylvania to improve his chances of winning. Many voters in Florida now wonder whether Charlie Crist might leave the party too.

While Charlie Crist has a significant fundraising advantage over Marco Rubio, Crist now trails Rubio by as much as 18 points.

The question about whether Charlie Crist might leave the Republican Party was first raised by "The Fix" blog at the Washington Post on February 2, 2010. The Fix reported on a poll that showed how Crist would have a better chance of winning the race for U.S. Senate in Florida if he ran as an Independent.

Like Specter, Crist supported $787 billion stimulus bill and now trails his conservative opponent in the GOP primary.

We want to know what you think. Please vote in our online poll and tell us whether you think Charlie Crist might leave the Republican Party to improve his chances of being elected.

You can vote here.

You can view the results of the poll here.

UPDATE: Not only have several media outlets reported on the possibility of Crist switching parties, but Crist himself refused to rule it out in an interview this week. Here's the report from Human Events:

Following the session with reporters, I caught up with Crist as he was leaving the entrance to the White House and asked about the rumors that he is considering pulling a Lieberman.

Im running as a Republican, he told me.

When I pressed him about ever having discussed an independent candidacy for the Senate, Crist admitted that some friends of mine talked to me about it, but I havent embraced it. Im running as a Republican.