FL: Democrats Pressure Independent to Drop out of Gov. Race

From the Miami Herald:

Lawton ``Bud'' Chiles III has been an independent candidate for governor for only a few weeks, but some longtime friends and associates already are trying to persuade him to drop out. The subtle pressure comes mostly from Democrats who fear Chiles can't win and will siphon votes away from likely Democratic nominee Alex Sink. . . .

Chiles dismisses the grumbling and said Democrats can't force him to drop his campaign. ``I've seen some comments by people that are insiders,'' Chiles said Tuesday, noting that most calls came before his June 3 campaign kickoff. ``That's inside party baseball. A lot of people are looking for an alternative to this existing order that we have set up.''