More Election News

• CA: Hopscotching the State, Candidates Make Their Pitches
• IL: The Nation's Slimiest Senate Race?
• RI-1: Cicilline, Loughlin Bicker as Race Tightens
• MI: Races Go Down to the Wire
• CO: Senate Race Is "The Wild West of Spending"
• IL: Quinn, Brady Joust Over Ethics, Social Issues
• WA-8: DelBene, Reichert Seek Support of Women Voters
• MA: Candidates Focus on Core Constituencies
• FL: Crist Would Caucus With Democrats if Elected
• AR-4: Ross Uses Fellow Democrats as Foil in House Bid
• AK: Write-Ins Flood Senate Race List
• OH: Democratic Town Loosens Its Party Ties
• NV: "None of the Above" Looms as Possible Factor in Race

An upbeat Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek called a press conference Thursday evening to say emphatically that he plans to remain in the open Florida Senate race against Republican Marco Rubio and independent Gov. Charlie Crist after press reports surfaced that President Clinton suggested he exit the race and throw his support to the governor.

"President Clinton did not ask me to drop out of this race," Meek said at the press conference. "No one has called me and said, ‘Hey, you need to get out of the race.'"

The congressman, who is lagging in third place in public polling, called the Politico report "inaccurate, at best."

Also on Thursday evening, Crist appeared on FOX News to confirm that he had spoken to officials at the White House about the efforts to get Meek to his team. He declined to tell Greta Van Susteren who he spoke to at the White House.

Meek may get more mileage out of the story this morning. He will do a tour of the national networks' morning news programs to discuss the matter and his commitment to the race.

The Florida Democratic Party issued a statement confirming its commitment to Meek in the race over Crist, and even Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele complimented Meek, albeit in a statement that injected race and scolded Clinton.

Steele said, "If we have learned anything this election cycle, it's that voters demand the right to choose candidates for themselves, not by a political establishment seeking to make those decisions from on high.

"President Clinton's actions to have Kendrick Meek withdraw from the campaign sends a chilling signal to all voters, but especially African Americans. One can only imagine the response if Republican leadership tried to force out of the race - in the 11th hour - a qualified black candidate like Kendrick Meek."

The late October surprise in the Sunshine State comes on the heels of Rubio's flourish of a closing TV spot.

On Tuesday, the Rubio campaign released its final ad, which is two minutes in length. The spot hasn't yet run on TV - it will run on Sunday night in the high-priced Florida media markets - but it immediately fanned speculation that Rubio is seeking a long-term role on the national political stage. Political analysts suggested Rubio will be a leading figure on the short list of contenders for running mate to the GOP's presidential nominee in 2012.

Rubio, however, already has achieved national fame: His visage was on the cover of the New York Times magazine in January for a feature story that profiled him as the original tea party success.

He leads the RealClearPolitics average by 10.8 percentage points. He has 42.4 percent to Crist's 31.6 percent and Meek's 18.6 percent.

Rubio strategist Todd Harris issued a statement Thursday afternoon after the story broke containing data from the campaign's internal polls, which show Meek and Crist in a tie - and Meek leading Crist among those who have already voted, 28 percent to 24 percent.