Florida Tea Party and 9/12 members have begun a campaign to pressure Libertarian Alex Snitker to drop out of the U.S. Senate race, fearing he will strip votes from Republican Marco Rubio.

"They’re saying, 'A vote for Snitker is a vote for Crist,' " Snitker told The Buzz this afternoon. In recent days, he's gotten numerous e-mails and Facebook messages to get out of the race. He's not.

"It’s flattery," Snitker said. "They’re scared I am a true constitutional conservative, aka a libertarian, and Rubio's not."

Snitker said he's been shut out of a South Pinellas 9/12 event Sunday at Ferg's in St. Petersburg that is supposed to feature Rubio. "They know that some of those people will no longer be going for Rubio, they'll be going for me. They are looking for a regular guy, not a career politician."