Election News 2010: Florida

State of Play:

This late primary pits the establishment favorite, Gov. Charlie Crist, R, against conservative former House Speaker Marco Rubio. After the moderate Crist’s entry into the race scared away most formidable Democrats — Democrats appear set to nominate a relatively weak candidate in Rep. Kendrick Meek, D — Rubio began gaining and has since become the frontrunner. But Crist, whose support for President Obama’s stimulus package has cost him dearly so far, is flush with cash and will not go away easily.

Primary election: August 24