Marco Rubio, Charlie Crist clash on who should be counted in Census

U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio backtracked Thursday from his statement that the U.S. Census should count only ``legal American citizens,'' temporarily shifting his surging campaign into damage control.

Rubio still favors excluding illegal immigrants from the formulas that dole out $400 billion in federal aid and seats in Congress. His position puts him at odds with his campaign opponent, Gov. Charlie Crist, and many other elected officials who say leaving out illegal immigrants would keep the state from getting its fair share.

``It would be pretty damaging to Florida,'' Republican U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart said at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday promoting a thorough count. ``The reality is, whether you like it or not, there are undocumented, illegal people in the state. Pretending they're not there, not counting them, doesn't make them go away.''