Three Florida aces go all-in for the Senate

The race: US Senate, Florida

Republican candidate Marco Rubio (left), independent Gov. Charlie Crist (centre), and Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek (right) go "all-in" in Florida's US Senate poll.

The candidates: Marco Rubio (Republican) vs. Charlie Crist (Independent) vs. Kendrick Meek (Democrat)

The intrigue: Governor Charlie Crist hoped he would win the Florida Senate jackpot by unloading his Republican suit and running as an independent, but Republicans have called his bluff and it’s former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio who is running the table.

Crist dropped the Republicans in April, betting that he could leave with significant Republican votes in his pocket and siphon enough independent and Democratic support to win the Senate race in the swing state of Florida. But the Republican party candidate Marco Rubio, a Tea Party-backed upstart, has succeeded in holding onto nearly all of the state’s conservative electorate. Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles, did not hesitate to play the familiar anti-Fidel Castro card. His “Road to Reclaim America” campaign bus was joyously welcomed at the Versailles Restaurant, the renowned bastion of the conservative, revolution-hating exiles of Miami. African-American Democratic party candidate Kendrick Meek has proven to be an aggressive player. But even with campaign appearances from party high roller Bill Clinton, he is not expected to win.

The odds: Rubio has been on top in every opinion survey conducted since September, and has held as much as a 21 point percentage lead over Meek and a 13 point lead over Crist during the race.

Winner: Rubio