Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who woke up this morning without the backing of soccer jerseys the Republican Party for his Senate campaign, told MSNBC that he would "probably" give back political donations from GOP supporters -- if asked.
Federal Election Commission reports show that Crist raised about $1.1 million in the first three months of 2010 and that he has $7.6 million in the bank.
"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough asked Crist, "Are you going to give them that money back or are you going to keep it?" (Watch about 8 minutes into this video).
Crist responded: "Well, No. 1, nobody's asked me yet. Not one person has asked me yet. And I think they realize that the reality is they gave it to my campaign, they gave it to me in order to espouse the ideas I believe in."
Well, at least one person is asking for a refund: Texas Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), called on Crist to give back donations, including $10,000 Cornyn gave Crist from his own political action committee. See an earlier On Politics post here.
Scarborough: "If they ask for money back will you give it back to them or will you keep it for the campaign?"
Crist: "Ah, probably give it back to them. It's not that big a deal. What really matters is we're able to communicate our message."
If Crist does return any money, the conservative Club for Growth PAC is prepared to help facilitate the effort. "Every dollar in Charlie Crist's campaign war chest was dishonestly raised, and he now has an obligation to refund his ill-gotten contributions to all those who request their money back," the group's president, Chris Chocola, said in a statement. "The Club for Growth PAC will be launching a contribution refund campaign immediately."
Today's story in USA TODAY on Crist notes that fundraising will be one of Crist's biggest challenges in his independent campaign for the seat vacated last year by Republican Mel Martinez.
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