Once GOP governor of Florida, Crist now runs as Democrat
CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press
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1of5U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-St. Petersburg, gestures during a campaign rally as he announces his run for Florida governor Tuesday, May 4, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Fla.Chris O Meara/APShow MoreShow Less
2of5U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-St. Petersburg, gestures during a campaign rally as he annouces his run for Florida governor Tuesday, May 4, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Fla.Chris O Meara/APShow MoreShow Less
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4of5FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2020 file photo, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., before Jill Biden speaks to supporters while campaigning for her husband Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, during a campaign rally in Tampa, Fla. Crist, who served as Florida governor for a single term before running for other positions, is seeking the state s highest office once again this time as a Democrat. Crist on Tuesday, May 4
Charlie Crist announces his third campaign for governor of Florida, second as a Democrat By Zac Anderson and John Kennedy
Nearly three decades after first winning elected office as a Republican, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist took the next big step Tuesday in his long and unusual political career by announcing a second bid for governor as a Democrat.
Crist made the announcement on Twitter Tuesday morning in advance of a campaign kickoff event in his hometown of St. Petersburg, becoming the first Democrat to jump into the 2022 contest.
With roughly 100 supporters gathered in the parking lot of a commercial strip in a historically-Black neighborhood, Crist took the stage shortly before noon and ripped into Gov. Ron DeSantis for his handling of the pandemic and other issues, promising a more compassionate approach that elevates the middle class.
DeSantis took a jab at Crist s party-switching Tuesday.
“Which party is he going to run under? Do we know for sure,” said DeSantis, who clearly was ready with a practiced answer when asked by reporters about Crist’s emergence as a challenger.
“He’s run as a Republican and lost, run as an independent and lost and run as a Democrat and lost,” DeSantis added. “Now I see he’s voting with (U.S. House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time, he could probably give it a run for the Green Party in San Francisco.”
Democrats largely have embraced Crist, though, nominating him for governor in 2014 and sending him to Congress in 2016, where he has served ever since. In doing so, they overlooked some of his more conservative positions, including a tough-on-crime past that earned him the nickname “Chain Gang Charlie.”
Charlie Crist is the first Democrat to announce a campaign for governor, but others are expected to get in the race. Crist served as governor as a Republican from 2007 to 2011.
Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist announced Tuesday he is running to reclaim the Florida governorship he las held as a Republican – as tried out slashing attacks on the state s GOP governor Ron DeSantis.
Crist released a new video where he says DeSantis handed out vaccines to his wealthy contributors while seniors were left waiting. DeSantis is stripping away your voting right . he doesn t believe in voting rights, doesn t believe in background checks for guns, doesn t believe in a woman s right to choose, doesn t listen, doesn t care, and unless you can write him a campaign check, you don t exist, says the moderator.