SOME DEMOCRATS AND TRADITIONAL DEMOCRATIC BACKERS FALLING BEHIND CRIST

Some disturbing news during the past couple of days:

The St. Petersburg Times political blog The Buzz noted Monday that Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist received endorsements from two Democratic mayors in South Florida, Fort Lauderdale's Jim Naugle and Susan Gottlieb of Aventura. Gottlieb, whose city has a large Democratic voter base, said that Democratic candidate Jim Davis' knowledge of the region is "sorely lacking".

Crist also received the support of a group of black ministers in Orlando. Some were Republicans, but some among the gathering were Democrats. Among those were Rev. James Blount of St. Stephens' AME Church, who supports Crist's proposal to double the $25,000 homestead exemption.

And the Miami Herald's political blog Naked Politics takes note of the Florida Professional Firefighters' decision to endorse Crist. They had supported Davis' primary opponent, State Senator Rod Smith, but union president Bob Carver "said Crist has championed higher fire safety standards and better training for emergency responders since the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks".

The union, with a membership across the state of 21,000, also endorsed Republican Tom Lee for Chief Financial Officer and Democrat Walter G. "Skip" Campbell, Jr. for Attorney General.