Struggling to persuade Democratic voters that he and not Gov. Charlie Crist can best defeat Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate race, Kendrick Meek turned down an endorsement from the left-leaning Sierra Club Thursday – because they also backed Crist.
“The Sierra Club’s number one priority is ensuring a clean energy economy to create jobs and solve the climate crisis,” Florida Sierra Club Staff Director Frank Jackalone said in a statement announcing the co-endorsement. “With Crist and Meek we can count on two serious and accomplished candidates for the U.S. Senate who understand the urgency of environmental protection and the policies needed to accomplish that goal.”
But Meek, who trailed Rubio and Crist in another poll released Thursday 42 percent to 27 to 21 percent respectively, rejected the split endorsement, saying the election was about “taking a stand.”
“Today’s Sierra Club co-endorsement is an insult to Florida’s environmental community,” Meek said in a statement. “The Sierra Club has chosen to stand with a governor who stood on stage applauding as Sarah Palin chanted, ‘Drill, Baby, Drill,’ a governor who signed a law making it easier for big developers to drain the Everglades, a governor who endorsed a bill that would have allowed drilling just three miles away from Florida beaches, and a governor who used polluter talking points to attack climate change legislation.”
Meek said he could not “in good conscience” accept the co-endorsement. “While I agree that Marco Rubio is an unacceptable choice for Florida’s environment, Charlie Crist is also an unacceptable choice,” he said.
Crist had no qualms accepting the Sierra Club endorsement, saying “Florida’s environment must be protected, as the health of our economy is inextricably linked to the health of our environment. As Governor, I fought to restore the Everglades, ban offshore drilling by constitutional amendment, increase energy efficiency and conservation, and reduce climate change,” he said.
The News Service of Florida
