Meek Scoffs at Talk He'd Drop Out of Florida Senate Race to Boost Crist Bid

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Florida says he is "absolutely not" talking to independent Charlie Crist about dropping out of the race, which Republican Marco Rubio leads. Denying recent news reports of negotiations (staffers say he “laughed out loud” when he heard the talk), Meek told MSNBC he’s in the campaign to stay, Politico reports.

"Absolutely not . . . It's nothing further from the truth. I'm in this race. I'm not trying to run for second — I'm running for first," Rubio said.

Even if it defies all odds. The most recent Rasmussen poll shows Rubio with 50 percent support, compared to 25 percent for Crist, a former Republican who switched to independent when his GOP nomination effort against Rubio appeared doomed, and 19 percent for Meek.

Meek declined to answer directly when asked whether it is more important to keep Rubio out of the Senate, given that he and Crist will split the Democratic vote. Meek said his faith assures him Rubio won’t win.