ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Florida gubernatorial race was spinning wildly Thursday, almost as fast as the electric fan that former Gov. Charlie Crist insists on bringing along to campaign appearances.
The resulting dust-up provoked the rarest of pleasures — an unscripted moment in a campaign season made for TV.
Gov. Rick Scott waited seven minutes, an eternity on live television, before appearing onstage for Wednesday night’s debate, all because Crist insisted on having his portable pal plugged in below his lectern.
The finger-pointing and fundraising then cranked up to full velocity, and before they had left the stage, #Fangate was a thing.
Many people posted messages on social media lampooning the incident.
Crist has been taking a portable fan to campaign events for years, from churches to town squares to a recent interview in the air-conditioned offices of The Associated Press in Miami. Like a rock star’s concert rider, the fan is such a requirement that one GOP operative calls it Crist’s “teddy bear.”
Perhaps seeing an opportunity to put Crist at a psychological disadvantage, Scott’s handlers tried to ban the fan from the debate.
Organizers sent both campaigns rules saying “candidates may not bring electronic devices (including fans)” on stage. Crist campaign adviser Dan Gelber signed the rules but added a handwritten caveat: “with understanding that the debate hosts will address any temperature issues with a fan if necessary.”
Just before the curtain opened, Crist’s handlers insisted on placing the fan behind his lectern near his feet, and Scott’s handlers demanded that the moderators do something. But then they were on live TV, facing an empty stage. Crist soon appeared, and CBS4 anchor Eliott Rodriguez turned to the audience.
“The rules of the debate that I was shown by the Scott campaign say that there should be no fan,” Rodriguez said. “Somehow there is a fan there. And for that reason, ladies and gentlemen, I am being told that Gov. Scott will not join us for this debate.”
Boos erupted. Crist was asked to explain.
“Are we really going to debate about a fan or are we going to talk about education and the environment and the future of our state? I mean, really,” Crist responded.
That was apparently enough for Scott, who came out and joined the debate.
Scott’s campaign manager Melissa Sellers insisted later that the governor “never refused to take the stage.”
But as the seven-minute delay gained national attention, the Florida GOP blew it up even more, posting a compilation of pictures showing Crist with his fan on the Buzzfeed Community website, promoted with the hashtag #CristHitsTheFan.
Democrats countered with tweets accusing Scott of having a backstage #fantrum. And later Thursday, Democratic activists were showing up at Scott events holding portable fans.
