New Meek ad uses Crist’s own words against him

Charlie Crist had to know this was coming.

Democrat Kendrick Meek and the Florida Democratic Party are out Wednesday with a joint ad using Crist's past comments as a Republican to undermine the Florida governor's independent bid in the state's closely watched Senate race.

The 30-second ad features a camera shifting back and forth along a bank of TVs in darkened room. The screens are all airing various clips of Crist's past public statements. As ominous music plays, the viewer sees video of Crist bragging that he's "about as conservative as you can get" and that he's a "Jeb Bush Republican." There is footage of Crist praising George W. Bush as a "leader of courage and conviction" and commending Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate in 2008.

The spot ends with Crist's own words. "I think it's important for people to understand who the true conservative is in this race," Crist says. "And it's Charlie Crist."

You can watch the ad below:

"Own Words" Political Ad (Florida Senate Race) @ Yahoo! Video

The spot is similar to an attack ad that damaged former Republican Sen. Arlen Specter's bid to win Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate nomination this year.

But one distinct difference is that Crist, unlike Specter, has openly admitted to changing his views on issues like expanded off-shore oil drilling, a position from Crist's conservative policy portfolio that the Meek ad features prominently.

Still, the ad could not come at a worse time for Crist, who has been sinking in the polls in recent weeks. A Mason-Dixon survey released over the weekend found Republican Marco Rubio with a 12-point lead in the race, polling at 40 percent, compared with Crist's 28 percent and Meek's 23 percent.

One reason Crist is losing ground to Rubio: His support among Democrats has fallen off dramatically. According to the poll, Meek now leads among likely Democratic voters, 44 percent to Crist's 37 percent. Crist has also lost support among self-described independents, who now favor Rubio 37 percent to Crist's 27 percent.

To win, Crist will need to win a significant sliver of support from Democrats, independents and Republicans. But Rubio and Meek are virtually ignoring each other to focus entirely on Crist in order to stave off any Crist incursions on their base voters. That strategy is not likely to change, even if Meek is enjoying a surge in the race.

According to the polls, Meek has gained between 5 and 10 points on Crist since July, but in a head-to-head matchup with Rubio, Meek still loses by more than 10 points. The dilemma for Dems is whether to stick with Meek or to shift their support to Crist, who stands a much better chance of defeating Rubio in November.

(Photo: screen shot of anti-Crist ad)