Miami , Florida ( CNN ) -- For Marco Rubio , life was simpler when it was tea time all the time . When he was gunning for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Florida , the former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives aggressively courted the state 's conservative Tea Party activists . That strategy worked . Rubio was suddenly a Tea Party favorite . His stunning rise in the polls forced Florida 's more moderate governor , Charlie Crist , to bolt the GOP primary to run as an independent . But the race is now more complicated , with Rubio competing in a three-way battle royal against both Crist and the Democratic nominee , South Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek . Rubio 's grass-roots campaign has put together a team of high-powered Washington and Texas-based GOP consultants . Over the summer , this son of Cuban exiles distanced himself from Tea Partiers on one of the conservative movement 's key issues , Arizona 's tough anti-illegal immigration law . `` The original law allowed for racial profiling . I do n't think they intended that . I do n't believe they did . But the original language in that law allowed for racial and ethnic profiling . And they changed that , to their credit , a week later . They passed a bill that changed that , '' Rubio said . Still , Rubio does n't want even the amended Arizona legislation to become the law of the land . `` I do n't think the Arizona bill should serve as a model for the rest of the country , '' he added . In an interview with CNN , Rubio blamed both parties for the nation 's problems and said he plans to be his own man if elected to the Senate . `` I represent the things I stand for , '' Rubio said . Tea Party activists in Florida still support Rubio . But one of the movement 's leaders , South Florida Tea Party Chairman Everett Wilkinson , says he will be watching Rubio 's moves closely . `` When you send a politician to Washington , you 're always worried whether you 're going to get the same guy back , '' Wilkinson said . One of the biggest worries among Tea Partiers is that Rubio will be another Scott Brown . The Massachusetts Republican had the backing of the Tea Party in his race to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy . But as a senator , Brown has shown his own independent streak and has voted on occasion with the Democrats . Not to fear , says Rubio , who is set to speak at a Tea Party rally in Florida later this month . But the 39-year-old Republican nominee has good reason to consider a move to the political middle in this swing state . Crist 's new ads tout the governor as a fresh independent voice , forcing both Rubio and Meek to defend their respective political bases . That 's created a fascinating sideshow in this three-ring political circus : an alliance of sorts between the Tea Party-backed Rubio and Meek . Nearly every day , both the Rubio and Meek campaigns send out e-mails blasting Crist . One of Meek 's e-mails showcases a recent newspaper editorial in Florida that slammed Crist as a `` campaign chameleon . '' `` Charlie Crist is trying to be indefinable in this race . And that has an expiration date on it . And that date has come and passed , '' Meek said in an interview with CNN . Crist declined to be interviewed for this story . `` I think people deserve to know what the next U.S. senator from Florida is going to be about , '' Rubio said . `` The last thing we need in Florida is a political opportunist . ''
Meek rise in the polls was fueled partly by Rubio activists . Crist decided to run as an independent , complicating the race for Rubio . Rubio 's grass-roots campaign managed by high-powered Washington and Washington Tea Party consultants . Both the Rubio and Marco Rubio 's campaigns send out e-mails blasting Crist .