Politics

Meek wins Dem nomination for Senate in Fla.

10:17 PM on 08/24/2010

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Democratic senate candidate Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., holds a sign as he prepares for his victory speech in Hollywood, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

LIZ SIDOTI,AP National Political Writer

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) -- Rep. Kendrick Meek is the Democratic nominee for Senate, overcoming billionaire Jeff Greene's massive television and mail onslaught to win a bitter Florida primary.

If he wins again in November, Meek will be the state's first black senator.

Meek was outspent by an estimated 5-to-1 ratio and at one point fell behind in the polls after Greene entered the race on the last possible day and began flooding the state with television ads.

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The race was often nasty, with Greene calling Meek corrupt and Meek saying Greene bet against Floridians when he made investments that earned him hundreds of millions of dollars in the housing market's collapse.

Meek will now face Republican Marco Rubio and independent Gov. Charlie Crist in the general election.