Gov. Charlie Crist, running for the U.S. Senate without party affiliation, continues to be hammered from both sides by Republican Marco Rubio, the front-runner in the race, and Democratic candidate U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek.

For the moment, the Rubio and Meek camps are ignoring each other and, while this is a three-way contest, the fight for the Senate seat often appears to be two separate battles: Rubio vs. Crist and Meek vs. Crist.

Polls show Crist trailing Rubio by double digits and that Meek is catching up to the governor. Crist needs to win Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents if he hopes to catch Rubio.

Meek’s strategy against Crist is reminiscent of the Democratic primary contest this summer when Meek tangled with billionaire investor Jeff Greene for the nomination. Meek presented himself as the “real Democrat” in the race and bested Greene, who had run for Congress as a Republican back in the 1980s, in the primary.

Meek and the Florida Democratic Party unveiled a new commercial Wednesday morning trying to keep their base from bleeding over to Crist. The ad hammers the governor for his past support of conservatives and Republican candidates, including Sarah Palin and George W. Bush.