Charlie Crist clings to lead in 3-way U.S. Senate contest

Charlie Crist's declaration of independence is paying off -- so far.

The governor narrowly leads Florida's topsy-turvy U.S. Senate race, despite nearly half of the voters saying he made a ``purely political'' decision to bolt the GOP and run as an independent candidate in the Nov. 2 general election, a new St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 poll finds.

Of the registered voters surveyed, 30 percent were for Crist, 27 percent for Republican Marco Rubio and 15 percent for Democratic front-runner Kendrick Meek.

The race remains volatile: Crist's lead over Rubio is within the poll's four-percentage-point margin of error, and nearly one out of four voters are undecided.

``This is a bit of a petri dish in some ways because Crist is a popular guy -- people like him, they like his policies,'' pollster Julia Clark, director of Ipsos Public Affairs, said of the outsized influence independent and swing voters may have on the race. ``He is stripping away support from both the Democrats and the Republicans, and I think that's going to confuse things a lot for both of those parties.''

The secret to Crist's success so far: his broader appeal across the political spectrum in the newly reconfigured three-man race.

He is backed by 39 percent of independents, 38 percent of Democrats and 26 percent of Republicans.

Rubio, a former House speaker from Miami, and Meek, a Miami congressman, are drawing most of their support from members of their own parties.

For a governor leading one of the country's most economically ravaged states and who only a few weeks ago faced near-certain defeat against Rubio in the Aug. 24 GOP primary, Crist remains remarkably well-liked.

Only 38 percent disapprove of his job performance, while 52 percent approve -- including more than six in 10 independents and Democrats.

Even among Republicans who all but drove him from their party, more voters approve of his performance than disapprove.

The poll surveyed registered voters, rather than more partisan likely voters.

``I like what I see about the guy,'' said Democrat Bill Caddey, 76, of Port Charlotte. ``He's kind of a back-and-forth guy on certain things, but I think he's a decent human being.''

***

Meek has been nearly invisible while the political world fixated on the Crist vs. Rubio drama, which mirrored the ideological battle within the GOP playing out around the country.

Some analysts argue that Meek will wind up pulling the overwhelming majority of Democrats, but five months from Election Day, the unaffiliated Crist is leading among Democratic voters, 38 percent to 33 percent.

``I don't know anything really about Meek. Only recently has his name come up. He's not a proven person as far as I'm concerned,'' said Rita Platman, 74, a registered Democrat in Trinity, the Pasco County community.

She had been considering changing her registration to vote for Crist in the Republican primary but said, ``I'm glad he took away that choice of mine.''

Despite the Democratic establishment lining up behind Meek, more than 40 percent of the Democrats surveyed were undecided in that primary.

Meek drew the support of 33 percent, former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre 10 percent, and billionaire investor Jeff Greene had 9 percent.

Greene, a Palm Beach resident who made hundreds of millions betting on the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, is a wild-card candidate who spent $1.3 million on ads last week and booked the same for this week.

‘Glee’ Star Dianna Agron Joins Cast Of ‘I Am Number Four’Poll: Charlie Crist holds lead in U.S. Senate race — for now