Senate Forum in Florida

Fla. Senate candidates to meet at Cuba forum

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Three top candidates in the race to become Florida's next U.S. senator will face off on the issue of U.S.-Cuba relations.

Gov. Charlie Crist, GOP challenger Marco Rubio, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek are among the candidates expected to address the nation's most powerful Cuba lobby, the US-Cuba Democracy PAC, on Monday in Coral Gables.

The event is the first since the Senate campaign began that all will attend simultaneously.

And no wonder. Not only does Florida have a large and politically active Cuban-American community, but a recent report by a nonprofit that tracks political donations showed the PAC and its supporters have given more than $10 million to congressional campaigns over the last seven years.