But before Demings’s “moment” as the first woman and African American governor of the third most populous state, she must prove herself worthy by winning a crowded and competitive primary. After that, she must topple the popular DeSantis – widely considered the heir to Donald Trump and Republicans’ best hope to recapture the White House assuming Trump does not run.
If Demings is victorious, the mainstream media will crown her a trifecta rock star politically slaying the Trump acolyte, crushing MAGA dreams and changing the 2024 GOP presidential nomination contest trajectory. More on that below, but first, some facts and history that make Demings’s dreams both plausible and a long shot.
Here Are All The Democrats Who May Challenge Ron DeSantis forbes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forbes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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.