Newsweek
- Kendrick Meek’s 26-point trouncing of billionaire Jeff Greene in the Florida Democratic Senate primary last night gives his campaign a much-needed boost. For a while there, his path to the nomination appeared deeply imperiled. Though he had the backing of the Democratic establishment, he faced an opponent who outspent him five-to-one and unleashed a barrage of attack ads depicting him as a corrupt career politician. Until the final weeks of the primary contest, Greene was polling neck and neck with Meek, a congressman from Miami.
With this convincing victory, though, Meek just got a fresh jolt. You can already see a more positive narrative emerging in the post-primary coverage: how he fended off a robust challenger, how he’s made history as the first black Senate nominee in the state. That said, Meek still faces long odds. He confronts two opponents, independent Gov. Charlie Crist and Republican nominee Marco Rubio, with much higher profiles. He remains stuck in third place in polls. And he’s still unknown to most Floridians. So the celebratory spirit in his campaign will surely be short-lived.
