U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of the 17th district (D - FL), is a rising star of the Democratic Party.  In last Sunday's St. Petersburg Times the results of a recent polls show that he could be competitive in the Florida U.S. Senate race in November. A Research 2000 poll  (margin of error plus or minus 4 percentage points) showed Congressman Kendrick Meek with 40 percent support among likely voters and  former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio with 41 percent. In a matchup against Governor Charlie Crist, Congressman Meek trailed 45 percent to 36 percent. The general election is looking as if the matchup will be between Meek and Rubio. Rubio leads  Crist in the Republican primary, 58 percent to 30 percent. If Crist decided to run in November as an independent, the poll showed him winning 29 percent support, compared to 27 percent for Meek and 32 percent for Rubio. Still at this point, in a three way race Meek is within striking distance of beating either the current governor or the former House Speaker.

Rubio is tainted by scandal. And the on-going investigation into the use of GOP credit cards may tarnish every leading Republican politician, including Crist. The Times reported, "Some curious charges showed up on the party credit card of then-Florida GOP executive director Delmar Johnson, including an Oct. 21 $359.20 charge for an airline ticket for Andrea Saul. Saul, communications director for the Crist campaign, said she did not know why the supposedly neutral party paid for the ticket, and that the campaign paid the cost of the flight directly to American Express. She was working for Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, at the time but flew down on a Sunday to attend a Crist campaign meeting at the Hyatt in Orlando. Crist has hammered Rubio for excessive spending of donor money on Rubio's party credit card, so it was striking to see some Johnson charges directed at Crist's family: $213.97 for flowers listed as for Emory Wood, Crist's brother-in-law, and $96.30 for Carole Crist's birthday. 'That sounds excessive,' Crist said when asked about the flowers for his wife." (St. Petersburg Times)

The Florida Republican party is racked with corruption. This is an open Senate seat, vacated by the retiring Republican Mel Martinez The Democrats could pick up this seat.