Reid’s courting of Crist creates awkward situation for Dems

Is Harry Reid trying to woo Charlie Crist into caucusing with the Democrats?

According to the Wall Street Journal’s Peter Wallsten, the Florida governor has had more than one conversation recently with the Senate Majority Leader about what he might do if he wins his campaign for the state’s open Senate seat. Crist, who quit the GOP to run as an Independent in April, hasn’t said which party he’ll caucus with if he wins.

Asked this morning for clarification on the substance of the Reid/Crist talks, Jim Manley, a spokesman for the Senate Majority Leader, gave the Upshot a "no comment."

It’s smart Senate politics for Reid to make overtures to Crist, who leads most polls in the race. But it’s hardly an endorsement of Kendrick Meek, the Democratic Party’s chosen candidate in the race. He’s been fighting an uphill battle for weeks to protect his political turf, amid signs Crist is quickly becoming the unofficial choice of Democrats in the race—not just for voters, but for party types, too.

Making the Reid/Crist revelation even more awkward is that Meek was making the rounds of the Senate today, where, alongside Reid, he addressed the Senate Democratic Caucus. Reid didn’t actually invite Meek. His official escort was Robert Menendez, who heads the Senate Democrat’s campaign committee. But that didn’t stop Meek’s campaign from trying to save face in an obviously awkward situation.

Asked for reaction to Reid’s overtures to Crist, Meek spokesman Dave Hoffman told the Upshot, “It’s Kendrick Meek invited to appear before the Senate Democratic caucus today, not Charlie Crist. That speaks for itself.”

But a party appearance can’t boost what are troubling poll numbers for Meek’s campaign. A new Public Policy Polling survey out today finds Crist still holding a solid lead in the race, ahead with 35 percent of the vote, compared to Marco Rubio’s 29 percent and Meek’s 17 percent. Among Democrats, alone, Crist leads Meek 44 percent to 35 percent. Overall, Democrats make up 44 percent of Crist’s support, followed by Independents at 40 percent and Republicans at 23 percent.

That explains why a majority of Crist’s supporters—43 percent—say he should caucus with the Democrats if he wins in November.

UPDATE: Reid is now denying that he's courting Crist, contradicting Crist's statements to the Wall Street Journal.