New GOP ad plays up Charlie Crist hugging President Obama

The now-infamous image of Charlie Crist hugging President Obama was bound to take life  in Florida's heated race for governor — and the state Republican Party obliged Monday in a new ad to boost Gov. Rick Scott.

The 30-second spot leads off with Obama's comment that he is not on the Nov. 4 ballot "but make no mistake: these policies are also on the ballot" as Florida Republicans seek to hammer home the ties between Crist and the president. There's even footage from the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte where Crist, a Republican when he was governor from 2007-2011, talks of being "proud to embrace" Obama and his economic stimulus plan.

"If you liked the last six years of Barack Obama, you'd love the next four years of Charlie Crist," says the ad's narrator.

Scott and Crist are deadlocked in Florida, where Obama is not popular. A poll by the Tampa Bay Times and its partners showed only 38% of Florida voters approve of the president's job performance vs. 56% who disapprove.

The race took a turn for the bizarre last week when a Scott vs. Crist debate was delayed for seven minutes because the Democrat had an electric fan whirring at his feet underneath the lectern. The candidates will go at it again Tuesday in a nationally televised debate on CNN.

The new ad was first reported by Politico.