Candidate News

Meek: Crist thinking about himself, not state (Video coverage from 4/17 reception)

ABC Action News  Meek: Crist thinking about himself, not state (click on link to see video; not able to embed)

Interview wtih Kendrick Meek outside Tuscon's on April 17 as the candidate was entering the reception sponsored by the President's of the Pinellas County Democratic Clubs.
Watch this at Tampa Bay Online

 

Rubio Opponent Kendrick Meek: This Is Already A Tea Party Referendum

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL), whose run for Senate has been cast to the sidelines as the state's top two Republicans duke it out, said that the campaign had already become a "referendum" on the Tea Party movement, owing to the attention it has drawn from ultra-conservative figures.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Interesting piece by Sam Stein on HuffPo. Can Meek tie Rubio and Crist to the Tea Party and the more extreme of the Republican "leadership"? If so, that may blunt their appeal to the Independents and moderate Republicans and Democrats.

Meet Kendrick Meek - help spread the word

From an email sent by the Meek for Senate Campaign: 

We just released our new campaign bio video and need to get the word out about Kendrick. Take a few minutes to watch the video and help us promote it. There are a few things you can do that will really help us push this out to as many people as possible:

1. We've posted it on Daily Kos. If you are a member, please Recommend the article and comment on it.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/8/133154/3434

2. Please give the video a rating on YouTube. The more people who give it a five-star rating, the more people see the video.

Full version: http://www.kendrickmeek.com/page/s/fullvideo 
Short version: http://www.kendrickmeek.com/page/s/video

3. Share the video on Facebook. Paste the following link in your status.

http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://www.kendrickmeek.com/page/s/video

4. Share the video link on Twitter. Click the link below to set your status to our video link/message.

http://bit.ly/dd2M8b

5. Help promote it elsewhere. If you are a member of any of these blogs, please recommend the video:

Firedoglake: http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/39598 
Alternet: http://blogs.alternet.org/kendrickmeek/2010/04/08/my-story/ 
MyDD: http://mydd.com/dna/posts/69426 
Progress Florida: http://progressflorida.org/page/community/post/kendrickmeek/CLvR

It is also posted at our regular social bookmarking sites, so if you could "like," "recommend" or whatever at those sites, please do.

Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/boap2/my_story_kendrick_meek/ 
Digg: http://digg.com/politics/My_Story_Kendrick_Meek 
Yahoo Buzz: http://bit.ly/brYAvC 
BuzzFlash: http://buzzflash.net/story.php?id=1086373 
Current: http://current.com/news/92369721_my-story-kendrick-meek.htm 
Propeller: http://www.propeller.com/story/2010/04/08/my-story-kendrick-meek/ 
Mixx: http://www.mixx.com/stories/12794583/my_story_kendrick_meek

With your help, we'll introduce Kendrick to many new people today and it'll go a long way towards balancing out the special interest money that our opponents will be raising.

Sincerely, 
Kenneth

Charlie Justice qualifies for ballot by turning in petitions

Creative Loafing, March 29 by Mitch Perry:

Pinellas County Democratic Congressional hopeful Charlie Justice is officially on the ballot in Florida’s 10th Congressional District election, as his campaign manager Mitch Kates today announced that he had qualified by petition by gathering more than 6,500 signatures (he was required to turn in 4,443) to the Supervisor of Elections office

March 29th Press Release from Justice's campaign:

“I am very proud of the many volunteers who gave hundreds of hours towards the campaign’s efforts in our petition drive,” stated Charlie Justice. “While my opponent ‘mailed in’ his effort to collect petitions, our supporters went out and talked directly to voters throughout the Congressional district asking for their support. All their hard work paid off because not only were we successful in collecting petitions but we also had the opportunity to talk to voters about the race and my candidacy.” “We plan on continuing our grass-roots campaign by going door-to-door throughout the Congressional District talking to voters about this race and the need for new leadership in Washington,” stated Justice. “The incumbent continues to show how out of touch he is with the district, first by holding a ‘Town Hall Meeting’ by mail and then following that up by ‘mailing in’ his petition drive.”

Justice sponsors Bill designed to help National Guard, families

Panama City News Herald.com April 1, 2010

Legislation that could provide need-based financial assistance to area Florida National Guard members and their families has passed the Florida Senate and is awaiting a full vote in the House. Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg, sponsored Senate Bill 644, which authorizes a direct support organization to administer a newly created Soldiers and Airmen Assistance Program for eligible National Guard members and their families. In a release, Justice said the initiative was designed to help National Guard members get need-based assistance through private donations.

--Read More--

FL Senate Race: MOVED FROM “LEAN REPUBLICAN” TO “TOSS-UP.”

Aaron Blake, The Hill, 3/31/10

The open seat in Florida, currently held by placeholder Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.), is looking more and more like a potential Democratic pickup opportunity. As the race stands now, former state House speaker Marco Rubio is likely to be the GOP nominee. And Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), unlike in early polls against Gov. Charlie Crist (R), is polling close to Rubio in some cases. Rubio has also begun to take his bumps over some personal financial issues, and it’s hard to see him coming out of the primary against Crist’s $7.6 million bankroll without some bruises. Meek has been raising solid money, and he’s also less well-known than Rubio at this point, which could account for his deficit in some polls. Florida is a swing state, and like other swing-state open seats right now, we’re expecting a close race that should start as a toss-up. MOVED FROM “LEAN REPUBLICAN” TO “TOSS-UP.”

Meek, the other Senate candidate, trying for history

Meek, the other Senate candidate, trying for history, By Lesley Clark, Miami Herald (In Print: Saturday, March 27, 2010 )

WASHINGTON — For nearly a year, Rep. Kendrick Meek has traversed Florida, persuading voters to sign a petition to get him on the ballot and, he says, in the history books. On Monday, the Miami Democrat and his wife, Leslie, will sign his U.S. Senate campaign's last petitions and deliver them to the Miami-Dade elections office. Meek needs 112,476 to qualify for the U.S. Senate race, and his campaign says it will exceed that number, delivering more than 130,000 signed petitions. "I thought it was very, very important that the people of the state of Florida place my name on the ballot to be the next U.S. senator," Meek, 43, said of his decision to seek signatures rather than pay the roughly $10,000 filing fee. "And I thought it was important for me to listen to the needs of Florida, from Escambia County to Monroe County. I knew it would make me a better candidate and a better senator."

Read the full article here.

Kendrick Meek at Tucson's in Clearwater April 17th

Kendrick Meek will speak at Tucson’s on Saturday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m. At this gathering, Congressman Meek will give special thanks to those who have worked hard to advance his campaign and lay out his campaign platform on the issues.. We plan to have a club table at the reception to publicize our club and recruit new members.  

Friends of the Kendrick Meek for Senator reception are requested to donate $20.10 to the campaign. I strongly urge you to make your donation in advanceto ensure entry. You may make a donation online at www.kendrickmeek.com/PinellasDems or send it to Dylan@kendrickmeek.com or send a check made out to Kendrick Meek for Florida to 111 NW 183^rd St., Suite 325, Miami, FL 33169. Please encourage your friends, family and acquaintances to come to meet and greet Representative Meek, too. Heidi Sanchez will be taking pictures of guests with Congressman Meek and sending them via email to guests. There will be light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar at the event. Please mark your calendars now for Saturday, April 17, 7:30 p.m., at Tucson’s, 13563 Icot Blvd. just off Ulmerton Rd. East of U.S. 19, Clearwater, for the Kendrick Meek reception.

(Download invitation)

Kendrick Meek’s Drive To Qualify For U.S. Senate Ballot By Petition Enters Final Stage

The Weekly Challenger (3/13/2010) reports that:

U.S. Senate Candidate Kendrick Meek is entering the final stage of his history-making petition drive as his campaign nears the 112,476 signature threshold to qualify for the ballot. While most candidates simply write a check to get on the ballot, he will be the first statewide Florida candidate to qualify for the ballot by petition. “Our petition drive is all about hard work and not taking the easy route. During these trying times, I am meeting with Floridians in their homes, at our neighborhood community centers and places of business. Everywhere I go, people are rejecting status quo politicians who cater to the powerful and have never rolled up their sleeves and worked a little harder to get things done. This petition effort has taken me throughout this state, and as we work hard to collect petitions from every Florida county, we will continue reaching out to everyday Floridians who have real concerns about their future,” said Meek... ...[The] Campaign is fast approaching the 112,476 petition threshold to qualify for the ballot. The Meek campaign has collected petitions in each of Florida’s 67 counties with field staff stationed across the state.

Read the entire article at The Weekly Challenger

The Gaggle: Don't You Forget About Meek

The March 10, 2010 blog post on The Gaggle, Newsweek Magazines' online political blog, focused on the FLorida Senate race.   Titled "Don't You Forget About Meek", the article focused on the Crist-Rubio primary, but it doesn't forget about Kendrick Meek, either!

As the pollsters note though, the large number of undecided Democrats (20 percent) means that come Election Day, that gap could disappear. It's pretty hard to imagine Democrats voting for Rubio in droves. It's less difficult to imagine them coming out to vote for Meek out of fear that the ultraconservative Rubio might actually win. Meek also leads among independents, a factor that could prove critical, especially in relatively moderate Florida.

The article quotes PublicPolicyPolling for March 10 showing Meek only 5 points behind Rubio in a general election (without Crist).

There's still time to gather petitions for Kendrick!  Email Rich at President@largodemocrats.com to get details on dates/times/locations.