Senator George LeMieux (R-FL) is a Charlie Crist crony who was appointed to the United States Senate to replace outgoing Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL). Which might help explain why he’s spinning reality desperately for Florida’s governor:

Sen. George LiMeiux (R., Fla.) tells NRO that his old boss, Gov. Charlie Crist (R., Fla.) will “ultimately be fine” in his Senate primary race against conservative challenger Marco Rubio.

“He’s had his eye on governing and in recent weeks he’s really begun to campaign hard,” LeMieux says. “He’s showing differences between him and his competitor and that’s starting to help. This race is still to be determined. The people who like him will come home to him.”

Yeah, unlikely.

Charlie Crist was a key element in the passage of the failed $825 billion stimulus package pushed by Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid. He’s also a supporter of cap-and-trade, the job-killing far-left environmental legislation opposed even by some Democrats.

The latest polls from Florida have Marco Rubio, his conservative opponent in the US Senate race, up by wide margins. Crist even lost a GOP straw poll in his own hometown.

Floridians aren’t falling for the liberal-in-conservative-clothing that is Charlie Crist. They realize he’s more comfortable aligning himself with Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi than Paul Ryan and Jim DeMint.