Politics

George LeMieux’s biggest obstacle in 2012 senate race: Explaining Crist

Amanda Carey Contributor
Font Size:

Few U.S. senators leave office only to run again in a later election cycle. Former Florida Senator George LeMieux, however, is one of them.

According to some records, the last time such a candidacy was successful was Republican Sen. Slade Gorton of Washington, who served from 1981 to 1987, and then from 1988 to 2001;  and Dan Coats of Indiana, who was re-elected in 2010 after a ten-year hiatus.

This election cycle, LeMieux will be joined by George Allen of Virginia, who is campaigning for Senate once again after serving from 2001 to 2007.

But LeMieux’s situation is unique. Upon the retirement of Sen. Mel Martinez in 2009, then-Gov. Charlie Crist appointed his former right-hand man to fill the position for the rest of the term. LeMieux then represented the state of Florida for 16 months in the Senate.

As a senator, LeMieux was probably best known for co-sponsoring an amendment to financial reform legislation that would ban references to credit agencies in financial services law, and his role in temporarily blocking President Obama’s contentious nomination for ambassador to Brazil.

Then in 2010, LeMieux watched his seat go to conservative star Marco Rubio, a candidate he was accused of relentlessly attacking during the campaign. (Kentucky GOP party rule change causes Tea Party uproar)

But LeMieux, who says he views his Washington experience as a benefit this election cycle, faces an uphill battle because of his close association with Crist, the Republican governor who campaigned for Senate as an independent and the rumor that LeMieux helped orchestrate Crist’s leftward shift. One of his rival campaigns has already pushed the point in a Web video that was released earlier this month.

LeMieux’s campaign director, Brian Seitchik, called the accusation “ridiculous,” and declined to comment further when contacted by TheDC.

But in print at least, LeMieux is often credited for shaping the former governor’s moderate positioning. An April 2010 report in the St. Petersburg Times pointed out that during LeMieux’s involvement in the early stages of the Crist administration, the governor called for the restoring felon’s voting rights and regulating emissions. Both were unpopular with conservatives.

During Crist’s re-election campaign, LeMieux was nicknamed “The Maestro.”

When Crist appointed LeMieux to fill the Senate seat, Florida press described the new senator as a “political clone” of the governor.

“The two men appear to be political clones of each other and joke that all they disagree on is their pro football loyalties: Crist likes the Bucs, and LeMieux, a Broward native, likes the Dolphins,” read one report.

In a 2006 story in the St. Petersburg Times, LeMieux was quoted describing his close relationship with Crist. (Wisconsin doctors handed out sick notes to protesters)

“He’s been the senior partner and I’ve been the junior partner,” he said. “We make decisions together.”

LeMieux supporters brush off claims that LeMieux facilitated Crist’s move to the middle by saying that he left the governor’s office long before the political shift took place. To a point, his supporters are correct, though LeMieux helped lay the groundwork.

The two moves that probably angered conservatives the most were Crist’s push for cap-and-trade and his support and acceptance of President Obama’s stimulus.  Both happened after LeMieux returned to the private sector at the law firm Gunster Yoakley, though he helped write early cap and trade rules and praised Crist’s acceptance of stimulus funds.

Moreover,  one month after LeMieux joined the law firm, Crist publicly stated that he continued to talk to his former chief of staff “daily,” adding “I think it’s very important to continue to have his good counsel.”

If LeMieux’s 2012 challengers have their way, the Crist connection will be a major campaign issue in the coming months. Rivals Adam Hasner and Mike Haridopolos have already begun positioning themselves to the right of LeMieux. Hasner is campaigning as the “authentic conservative, while Haridopolos is touting is record of accomplishments as Senate president.