Florida US Senate hopeful—and billionaire—Jeff Greene.
It’s none too often that a candidate for US Senate needs time at a press conference to deny stories of wild, late-night, vomit-filled parties on his mega-yacht—and to explain, once again, that he’s “not a partier.” Then again, the fight for Florida’s Democratic Senate nomination is anything but your typical primary race.
On Friday, Greene fielded questions at a press conference in Tallahassee about allegations from former deckhands that his yacht had hosted lurid parties more reminiscent of Jersey Shore than peaceful Caribbean cruises. As the St. Petersburg Times reports, a former employee on Greene’s yacht, Summerwind, claimed the yacht “is known to be a party yacht. When it went to Cuba, everybody talked about the vomit caked all over the sides from all the partying going on.” The paper cites a vignette from Gregory Zuckerman’s book, The Greatest Trade Ever:
“Greene brought two Ukrainian strippers on board to make a cameo appearance and hired stewardesses from coastal towns to serve as his crew. Some doubled as massage therapists, which came in handy after a day of scuba diving, Jet Skiing, or kayaking.”
Greene’s campaign has repeatedly denied these stories or corrected them; a campaign spokesperson, for instance, told the St. Pete Times that “Jeff was traveling on his boat with his rabbi and his younger brother to visit Jewish sites in Romania and Odessa” and was not bringing strippers on board. And at Friday’s press conference, Greene himself insisted that he’s “not a partier”:
Whether his partying—or not—days will sink his chances at the polls remains to be seen. A Mason-Dixon poll on Aug. 8 and 11 gave his primary contender, Rep. Kendrick Meek, a massive 14-point lead of 40 percent to 26 percent. But in an Ipsos poll conducted around the same time, Greene led with 40 percent, while Meek had only 32 percent. Pollsters, in other words, are just as confused as Florida voters.
Meek and Greene both have one remaining week to make a final push for support. Not surprisingly, Meek has ripped billionaire—and former Republican—Greene every chance he’s gotten, recently quipping regarding Greene’s choice of Mike Tyson as his best man at his 2007 wedding, “It’s definitely not on the-things-to-do list if you want to run for public office.” Stumping for Meek is former president Bill Clinton, while the deep-pocketed Greene will surely unleash a barrage of last-minute ads to push him over the top. Until next Tuesday’s results come in, the Democratic primary winner is still anyone’s guess.
