Florida Governor Charlie Crist wasted no time holding a fundraiser last night in Miami Beach, just days after he switched parties from Republican to Independent.

Crist made the announcement last week, in the midst of an ever-tightening Republican Senate primary race. Recent polls had shown that Crist was falling behind GOP Senate candidate Marco Rubio, who said Crist’s decision to leave the Republican Party was one of “political convenience.”

Since June of last year, Crist has held 22 fundraisers, including five in 2010, according to invites sent to Party Time. The invites all listed him as a Republican candidate for the seat. Some Republican lawmakers have requested that Crist return his campaign contributions now that he has switched parties. Crist has said that he’ll probably give the money back to people that ask.

Party Time has one invitation on file for Rubio, at the lobbying offices of Peck, Madigan, Jones & Stewart in Washington D.C.

Crist said he took advice from Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who told Crist that switching is “the most liberating thing.”

Said Crist: “He was right. I’m much happier now.”

Crist has raised more than $10 million, with $7.6 million of that in the bank. His opponent Rubio has raised more than $7 million, about $4 million of which is cash on hand. Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek has raised more than $5.7 million.

Florida’s Republican Senate primary will take place on August 24. The Cook Political Report rates the Senate race a “toss-up.”

Hilton Hotel Worldwide CEO Christopher Nassetta is scheduled to host a fundraiser for embattled Florida Republican Senate candidate Gov. Charlie Crist on Feb. 22, at, where else–the Capital Hilton.

Crist faces a challenge from the right by Marco Rubio, who enjoys strong support from the tea partiers.

Nassetta became CEO of Hilton Worldwide in 2007.  In the past, he and his wife, Madalyn Paige, have supported Democrats and Republicans alike. Since 2005, they have contributed more than $120,000 directly to federal, state, and party committees, according to data from opensecrets.org and followthemoney.org. This amount includes $16,000 to Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) as well as contributions to former Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)

The Nassettas also contribute to real estate Political Action Committees (PACs) including the Real Estate Roundtable’s (where Nassetta serves on the board), the National Association of Real Estate Trusts, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association. All have active federal lobbying programs.

With the holiday break approaching fast, we’ve got more than two dozen congressional fundraisers in the Party Time database scheduled to take place before Christmas. Some of note include:

• Florida Gov. Charlie Crist continues his fundraising swing through Florida, with two parties coming up in the next week in Naples and St. Petersburg. As we blogged here, Crist has been furiously fundraising in a contested primary with Marco Rubio for a senate seat.
• Lobbyist Matt Keelen, who represents a mix of unions and some industry clients, is hosting a luncheon today for Rep. Rodney Alexander, a Republican from Louisiana. Alexander switched parties from Democrat to Republican in 2004. So far he’s collected more than $435,000 toward his 2010 election race, without any opponent reporting any cash raised.
• On Thursday, GAS PAC, the PAC for the American Gas Association, is feting Sen. John Thune of South Dakota. In January, the association praised Thune for cosponsoring legislation to provide a tax incentive for production of natural gas from waste products.

Facing competition from fellow Republican Marco Rubio, Florida  Governor Charlie Crist is doing his best to keep up his fundraising advantage ($6.9 million v. $1.6 million at last counting) for his campaign for the U.S. Senate. We have eight events alone in our database for the month of November, with another reception coming up on Friday, December 4, in Florida in a private home.

While all of  these recent fundraisers are in Florida, Crist has come under questioning for collecting ample amounts of cash–nearly $1 million according to his campaign finance filing–from out of state. He recently told the St. Petersburg Times that he was trying to schedule all of his out-of-state fundraising events before the end of the calendar year, on the advice of former Democratic Sen. Bob Graham.

“One of the things I like the least about what I do is having to raise money,” Crist said.  “I also realize that I have to have resources in order to communicate and in order to educate. I don’t enjoy going to receptions a lot, but I know I have to do it. Does it look bad? Perhaps. But I know if I don’t do it, I’m not going to be able to communicate when it really matters.”

This makes us think that we must be missing D.C. fundraising invitations for Crist. If you come across any, please send them our way.