An operative from the National Republican Senatorial Committee predicted on Monday that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) would forfeit his primary battle against Marco Rubio for the state's Republican nomination for Senate.
In an e-mail obtained by CNN, Rob Jesmer, executive director of the NRSC, wrote to political operatives that Crist's surrender is imminent.
From Jesmer's e-mail:
We believe there is zero chance Governor Crist continues running in the Republican primary. It our view that if Governor Crist believes he cannot win a primary then the proper course of action is he drop out of the race and wait for another day. We have communicated this message indirectly and would have given it to the Governor directly had he returned Senator Cornyn's phone call.
Jesmer also explained that the NRSC would support former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio should Crist opt to run as an independent.
But Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.), a former Crist adviser, had a different take on the governor's political future.
LeMieux, who served as Chief of Staff to Christ before being appointed by the Florida governor to fill former Sen. Mel Martinez's Senate post when he resigned in 2008, projected that Christ will continue to run as a Republican candidate for Senate.
"I believe Charlie Crist will be a Republican in this race," LeMieux said during an appearance on MSNBC. "I'm not parsing words that carefully. My understanding is that he's a Republican who will
