According to the Florida Division of Elections, Meek has collected 37,420 verified signatures through March 1. That means he has to collect another 75,056 signatures before March 29 – a daunting 2,680 good signatures a day.
Based on my research and projections (explained here), Meek actually has 50,761 petitions in the system, putting him 61,715 signatures behind. Even by this standard, Meek has to collect more than 2,200 ‘good’ signatures a day.
The need to collect that many more signatures prompted the Florida Democratic Party to send out an e-mail from Abe Dyk, Meek’s campaign manager:
As impossible as that sounds, Meek may be better off than the data suggests. He just finished an extensive speaking tour of the state, where he was sure to collect hundreds, if not thousands, of signatures. Also, I have the increasingly suspicion that the campaign is sandbagging thousands of petitions, thereby lowering expectations, making it seem all the better when, and if, they cross the finish line.
But at this point, based on the data I’ve collected, I rate Meek’s chances of accomplishing this goal to a full “Better Get Out The Checkbook” on the Will-Meek-Make-It-Meter.
