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From today's Orlando Sentinel:

Crist's centrist line troubles Democrats

John Kennedy | Tallahassee Bureau Chief
Posted August 15, 2006

TALLAHASSEE -- With Republican Charlie Crist looking poised to be his party's nominee for governor, Florida Democrats are growing increasingly focused on him as a likely opponent this fall. And they are worried.

Crist's middle-of-the-road politics defuses several education, environmental and social issues that Democrats had hoped to use to rally their key supporters this November.

Instead, to many Democrats, Crist's stance on class size, vouchers, abortion, offshore oil drilling, stem-cell research and same-sex civil unions sounds a lot like their own, making the prospective GOP nominee a tough target.

"Sure, he could be a difficult opponent," said Luis Navarro, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party. "But if he becomes the nominee, we're going to make him answer for the job Republicans have done in this state the past eight years."

With polls showing Crist holding a lead of at least 20 percentage points over Republican rival Tom Gallagher, Democrats have begun turning up their criticism of the front-runner, questioning his command of state issues going back to the mid-1990s and his service in the Florida Senate.

Crist, the state's attorney general since 2002 and who previously served as state education commissioner, gave Democrats fodder last week by acknowledging at a Palm Beach Post editorial-board interview that he knew little about the state's standardized FCAT test given to schoolchildren. Even so, the newspaper endorsed him.

"He has a very long public record, and we will be looking at that," Navarro said, unwilling to disclose details about the Democratic strategy for taking on Crist. "But it's clear, at this point, that if Tom Gallagher has anything left to throw at Crist, he better start doing it."

Gallagher, the state's chief financial officer, has moved decidedly to the right this campaign season. With just three weeks left before the Sept. 5 primary, Gallagher is trying to block Crist's road to the nomination by challenging Crist's conservative credentials.

But those same moderate positions embraced by Crist are concerning Democrats and their allies looking beyond their own primary contest between U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa and state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua.

"He's a hard match-up because he's staked out positions on both sides of an issue," said Rep. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach, in line to become House Democratic leader this fall.

Campaigning recently in Tampa, Crist praised Gov. Jeb Bush, calling him the "greatest governor in America." But though proclaiming his allegiance, Crist quietly takes issue with key initiatives by Bush, who remains a divisive symbol for many Democrats.

The Republican governor has twice tried to get voters to reconsider the 2002 amendment restricting class size in Florida. Crist has said he will comply with the mandate.

Bush's statewide private-school voucher program, declared unconstitutional in January, also would likely fade away because Crist has shown no interest in overturning the ruling.

The Florida Education Association, which sought to unseat Bush in 2002 mainly over those issues and heavily financed his Democratic opponent, Bill McBride, has issued dual endorsements to Smith and Davis in their primary fight.

An endorsement for the general election may emerge next month, but Mark Pudlow, a union spokesman, said that it was not all-but guaranteed for the Democratic nominee.

"We'll look at the candidates' track record," Pudlow said.

Crist has distanced himself from last year's debate about Terri Schiavo, which Bush helped drive through the state Capitol to the halls of Congress. And he has broken with the governor over his support for limited offshore oil drilling.

Crist also opposed President Bush's veto of legislation to advance embryonic stem-cell research. Crist also does not oppose civil unions for gay couples.

But Crist continues to surge in the Republican field even as he blazes a centrist course, underscored by his plan to campaign this week with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., whose populist image draws crossover Democratic support.

"Crist is almost like a Democrat-lite," said Jim Kitchens, an Orlando political consultant and pollster. "And that's going to make it difficult for real Democrats looking to defeat him."