Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on “Fox News Sunday” that while he supports Florida Governor Charlie Crist today, he will not continue to support him if he decides to leave the party.\u00a0 Crist, who is trailing Republican Marco Rubio for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat, has indicated he may skip the GOP primary and run as an independent.\u00a0 Crist only has until Friday to decide what letter is going to fall behind his name, but that hasn’t stopped Republican heavy hitters from weighing in early.<\/p>\n
The Kentucky Republican, who endorsed Crist a year ago, suggested he should, “compete as a Republican. He has been a Republican all of his life and to remain within the party.\u00a0 I hope he will do that.”\u00a0 So will he take back his endorsement?\u00a0 McConnell said, “Not today…I think if the governor were to decide to run as an Independent, he’s not going to have any Republican support.”<\/p>\n
Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who endorsed Rubio, said in a statement earlier this week, “Lately it seems Charlie Crist cannot be trusted even to remain a Republican…I strongly urge him to either stay in the Republican Party or drop out of the race. The only winners from an independent bid would be Barack Obama and Harry Reid.”\u00a0 McConnell seems to agree saying, “I would be troubled if the governor decided to run as an Independent.\u00a0 I think that would be a serious problem.\u00a0 And he would certainly not have my support and not have the support of any other Republicans that I know.”<\/p>\n
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