Improbably, Lawton "Bud" Chiles says he'll be the next governor, as an independent candidate. But Chiles also says he will reconsider his long-shot candidacy if he's not a "viable" candidate.

"I'll say this till the end: I'm not in this race to create a situation where Rick Scott becomes governor," Chiles told reporters on Thursday. "I believe every day, and I think what happened in the (Republican) primary is a very strong indication that I have a very viable candidacy. As long as my candidacy is viable, then, if I'm sending the message that Floridians want to hear, I'm going to keep doing that. And if, at some point, I feel that it's not viable then we can have another discussion about it."

"Viable is that I believe I can win," Chiles said. "It probably takes 33 points to win." But Chiles said he has accepted invitations to three statewide debates and he intends to name a lieutenant governor running mate early next week. (The deadline to pick a running mate is Sept. 2).