Editor’s note: AOL News is asking U.S. House and Senate candidates to answer 10 questions about themselves and their views on two big issues.

Democrat Kendrick Meek has been a member of the U.S. House since 2003, when he was elected to succeed his mother, Rep. Carrie Meek, who retired. He rose to the rank of captain in the Florida Highway Patrol and served in the state House from 1995-98 and state Senate from 1998-2002. He is running for the U.S. Senate from Florida against Republican Marco Rubio and Independent Charlie Crist.

While still down in the polls, Kendrick Meek is trying to bolster his U.S. Senate campaign with the help of the state’s veterans.

Meek spoke to a handful of vets and other supporters Tuesday afternoon at a Democratic call center in Delray Beach. The event served as a formal kick-off for the ‘Veterans with Meek’ organization.

With the Gulf oil spill threatening Florida’s pristine beaches and public support for offshore oil drilling waning, Democratic Senate candidate Kendrick Meek of Miami has accused his rivals of backing oil drilling at one time or another, and says he’s the only candidate to consistently oppose expanded offshore exploration.

He made the argument on his campaign website, where he encouraged people to sign a petition against offshore oil drilling. This is what he wrote:

“The recent disaster in the Gulf just underscores the need for a moratorium on any new offshore drilling, but Charlie Crist is busy flip-flopping his stance and Marco Rubio refuses to rule drilling out. Kendrick Meek is the only candidate who has consistently been against expanded drilling.

Trailing badly in the polls behind Republican candidate Marco Rubio and newly independent Gov. Charlie Crist, Congressman Kendrick Meek spoke to the AFL-CIO convention in Jacksonville on Saturday morning, desperately seeking their endorsement.

Meek, still the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, received a warm reception, but so did Crist when he spoke to the meeting Friday afternoon. With both Crist and the congressman seeking the AFL-CIO endorsement, Meek attacked the governor in his speech.