Fla. GOP plans to auction oil painting of Crist

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Just hours after Gov. Charlie Crist announced he would run for the U.S. Senate as an independent, the Florida GOP hastened to remove any likeness to the Republican governor they helped elect.

First item to go in the breakup: an oil painting that the Republican Party of Florida purchased for its headquarters in Tallahassee. Party officials say they paid $7,500 for the Crist portrait and another painting.

The portrait of Crist came down after he announced that he would skip the GOP primary and run as an independent for the state's open Senate seat. Officials also removed his signatures from all party materials.

Florida GOP spokeswoman Katie Betta told The Tampa Tribune that the portrait will be auctioned on eBay.

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