Chiles drops out of governor’s race; endorses Sink

TALLAHASSEE — As expected, Lawton “Bud” Chiles III dropped his independent bid for governor Thursday, saying he was afraid his continued candidacy would tilt the race toward Republican Rick Scott , whom he described as “someone I’m not sure has Florida’s best interests at heart.” “Continuing my campaign may well divide good people with common goals,” Chiles said at a Tallahassee press conference alongside Democratic nominee Alex Sink . Chiles endorsed Sink and described her as “a friend, a proven leader, and a person of great integrity.” “She served the people of Florida long before she asked them to elect her,” he said in another veiled shot at Scott, “and she has convinced me she shares my commitment to cleaning up Tallahassee and making government work for people.” Chlies’ candidacy was a low-budget affair from the start. The Democrat filed as a no-party affiliation candidate and limited himself to accepting only $250 checks and no special-interest money in an attempt to replicate the old campaign style of his late father, former Gov. Lawton Chiles , who walked the state to drum up attention. He joked Thursday his bid was “the best $75,000

campaign in recent Florida history.” But in the modern political landscape, TV is king and it takes tens of millions of dollars to run an effective campaign. Chilers also said Scott had created an unlevel playing field by getting portions of Florida’s public-finance law for candidates tossed out in a federal court. And Democrats have been privately fretting Chiles’ candidacy would peel off North Florida Democrats and other independent voters Sink would need to overcome the enthusiasm within the GOP base. Chiles said he “may not agree” with Sink on everything, and one shining example is that Sink hasn’t ruled out using a so-called electioneering committees to raise big checks from monied interest groups that enjoy out-sizedinfluence on Tallahassee. “We haven’t discussed it,” Sink told reporters. “If my campaign decides to set up a 527, the contributions will be fuly transparent.” Scott has used a 527-style group to funnel his own family’s money into his race, and is hitting up many of the same corporations and check-bundling lobbyists who threw $21 million into defeated Republican Bill McCollum’s campaign.

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Chiles drops out of governor’s race; endorses Sink

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