'Bud' Chiles dropping out of governor's race

Independent candidate Lawton "Bud" Chiles III is departing the governor's race and endorsing Democratic candidate Alex Sink.

Rumor and speculation have circulated for days that Chiles would abandon his uphill race to the governor's mansion. Many Democrats feared that Chiles, son of the late Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles, could be a spoiler in a tight race between Sink and GOP candidate Rick Scott.

Chiles will appear with Sink at 10 a.m. tomorrow in Tallahassee to make the formal announcement.

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, a Democrat supporting Sink, said he received a message from Chiles on Wednesday about his intentions.

"We've been talking over the last several weeks about this," said Graham, Florida's governor from 1979 to 1986. "I'm very pleased he's made this decision. It's the kind you'd expect of Bud; he's a very serious, conscientious person who cares a great deal about Florida."

Chiles leapt into the race in June saying he would represent those without a voice in politics. He limited campaign donations to $250 and planned a grassroots campaign similar to that of his father, who died in office in 1998.

But the younger Chiles' campaign struggled to take off.

In a race where GOP candidates were spending an estimated $70 million on the primary alone, Chiles raised less than $100,000, of which $25,000 came from Chiles himself. In recent polls, he claimed anywhere from 8 percent to 13 percent -- far from a majority, though enough to swing a tight race.

Steve Yerrid, a Tampa lawyer who served on Gov. Chiles' legal team that won an $11 billion settlement from tobacco companies, said Chiles' decision will alleviate "angst" among those who "loved and respected" the elder Chiles.

"Politics run in the family," said Yerrid, a Sink supporter. "But I was concerned, because I think this a time for unity, not fragmentation. I'm very appreciative of the fact that there is a clear choice now. I think that choice will be made wisely, so that we will have our first female governor in the state's history."

Scott seemed unsurprised by Chiles' decision, saying in a released statement that he had "always planned on a two person race for governor," which he desribed as a "clear choice" between a "conservative outsider" and a "liberal Obamacrat."

Graham said he believed most Chiles supporters will vote for Sink, but not everyone was so sure.

"You can argue it either way," Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling said in a written analysis of Chiles' impact.

He noted that an overwhelming majority of recent poll respondents who supported Chiles also disapproved of President Barack Obama. All told, 47 percent were Republican, 30 percent Democratic, and 23 percent independent.

"So you might expect his dropping out to actually benefit Rick Scott," the pollster said.

The catch, he said, is that 60 percent viewed Scott unfavorably. "Chiles was a landing spot for folks who didn't like Scott or the Democrats ... My guess is, it ends up being a wash and having no real effect on the race."