The 2012 campaign season is barely over, but from the looks of things, Florida's 2014 campaign for governor is well underway.
Gov. Rick Scott has raised $4.5 million for his re-election, and the state's Republican Party is producing a flurry of television ads.
The early push may have a lot to do with a man who, so far, isn't even running: former Gov. Charlie Crist.
Crist built a political brand that is all about "the people," a term he coined as a Republican governor in 2006. He broke out again as an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, and now it's plastered on billboards for the law firm Morgan and Morgan.
Speculation is ripe that Crist will be calling on the people again in 2014, this time to get his old job back - as a Democrat.
His old party is already on the attack. The state GOP is pumping money into ads aimed at reminding Democrats there was a time when Crist was a loyal Republican, until he turned his back on the party. The message is that he is anything but loyal.
The ads are part of a pre-emptive strike designed to prevent a former governor from becoming a future governor, in part by derailing his campaign before it even begins.
The the ad campaign also carries a fair amount of risk. Democratic strategist Steve Schale said the assault on Crist could backfire.
"The only people who are paying attention right now are the most hardcore of partisans," he said. "And if you're a Democrat and you're not sure you can get your arms around Charlie Crist as a Democrat, the fact that Republicans are attacking him makes you go, 'Well, maybe he's not that bad of a guy.'"
There is also the former governor's high-profile address at the Democratic National Convention and his aggressive campaigning for the Democratic ticket.
Right now Crist said he has no plans to run for governor, but he is not ruling it out. He said any decision will come after the holidays.