Bud Chiles, the son of legendary Democratic ex-Gov. Lawton Chiles, says that he's taking the Charlie Crist path:
Lawton "Bud" Chiles III, the son of the late governor, announced Thursday that he plans to run for governor as an independent candidate. ...
"The two parties are not the solution," he said. "They're caught up in this high-stakes game that pits big money against big money and leaves ordinary Floridians on the sidelines."
Chiles said he made his decision after he met with Sink and she told him she plans to raise $30 million on the race. Democrats likely won't be pleased with Chiles' move, as it could set him up as a spoiler candidate who would draw votes away from Sink.
With Chiles' presence in the independent column, SSP is adjusting our rating of the Florida gubernatorial race to Lean R from Tossup. The fact of the matter is that Sink was struggling long before Chiles announced his interest in the race, and that left her with no margin for error in a general election:
It's also possible that Chiles will attract a number of Dixiecrat voters who might have otherwise pulled the lever for McCollum, or that Chiles will simply drop out of the race after a few months of reality, but it's time that we acknowledge that the playing field is tilted in the wrong direction here.
