(Ocala).To hear George LeMieux tell it, the approach he will bring to Washington, D.C., is modeled after that of the man who put him there - and who aims to take his place.
"I describe myself as a Charlie Crist Republican," LeMieux said.
LeMieux, named by Gov. Crist on Friday to take the spot of departing Sen. Mel Martinez, explained that means that he is a "problem solver" who is unafraid to reach across party lines but still committed to "limited government."
But will LeMieux, the governor's former chief of staff, tackle the controversial issues confronting the Senate over the next 16 months by casting votes with the solidly Republican bloc?
Or will he offer hope to Democrats struggling to find GOP support for major intitiatives such as health-care reform and new rules to slow global warming?
Martinez was reliably Republican, voting with the majority of his party nearly 85 percent of the time and scoring 100 percent ratings from such social conservative groups as the Family Research Council and Gun Owners of America.
LeMieux's record suggests he may not be as reliable a vote for his party.
In his only run for elected office, for the Statehouse in 1998, LeMieux favored gay rights, including adoptions.
And it was LeMieux who urged Crist to snub President George W. Bush just days before the 2006 election.
LeMieux worked with Crist, who was attorney general at the time, when Crist decided to stay out of the emotional fray surrounding the legislative and legal battle to keep Terri Schiavo alive.
LeMieux was also responsible for helping craft the finer details on some of Crist's signature moves, including his push in 2007 to overhaul the property insurance market by greatly expanding the state's role in providing reinsurance.
And LeMieux has been willing to reach out to Democrats in order to accomplish Crist's goals.
Chris Kise, a former top Crist aide, said there is a high level of understanding between the two men. "He knows how George thinks and he can trust that thinking," said Kise.
But the idea that LeMieux is nothing more than a Crist surrogate has drawn criticism.
"He says he's a Charlie Crist Republican. I'm still trying to figure out what that means," said Chris Ingram, a Republican political consultant from Tampa. "I guess that means LeMieux is going to stick his finger in the air to see which way the wind blows."
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