The Political Whore

Senator Mel is in some trouble, if the Quinnipiac Poll released today is any indication. The Miami Herald puts it into context:

Sen. Mel Martinez could face a tough re-election, as a Quinnipiac University poll released today shows him receiving approval from only 42 percent of the voters. According to the survey, 33 percent disapprove of Martinez.

In contrast, Gov. Charlie Crist looks hard to beat with a 68 approval rating. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink would be his strongest Democratic challenger, according to the poll, though her approval rating is only 35 percent.

“Florida votes Democrat for president, unseats a couple of Republican congressmen and the state GOP is worrying about the state turning blue, but nothing seems to hurt Gov. Crist,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Even in bad economic times and with his Republican Party seemingly on the ropes, he remains incredibly popular.”

Martinez underwhelmed his party with his relatively short stint as chairman of the RNC, angered conservatives with his stance on immigration reform, and upset his constituents by looking like he was paying more attention to partisan matters than the Congress to which he was elected to represent the state. And aside from his dramatic back story (Martinez came to this nation as a teen as part of the “Peter Pan” airlift out of communist Cuba) and his propensity to govern as a moderate and run as a conservative, Martinez has pretty much been a big zero in the Senate.

The Q Poll’s Brown says Martinez’s re-election, however, is not out of the question. “Martinez’ numbers aren’t awful,” Brown said in a press release accompanying the poll results. “The key to his winning re-election will be winning back the allegiance of independent voters, who currently are not in his corner. But with a third of independents saying they re undecided, he certainly has an opportunity to accomplish that end.”

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment