On Tuesday, former Florida governor Charlie Crist will announce his next foray into politics—a run for Congress.
Officially, Crist has not indicated specifically what this announcement will address; Kevin Cate, who served as an advisor to Crist’s failed 2014 bid for governor, has only said that Crist is set to make a “major announcement”—but Crist tipped everyone off on his plans earlier in the year.
Via Politico:
Crist, a Democrat, has already said he would run for the St. Petersburg-based 13th Congressional District, which was made favorable for a Democratic candidate as the result of a legal challenge to the state’s current congressional lines.The district almost certain to be approved by the Florida Supreme Court was won by president Obama by 54 percent, and is widely considered a safe pickup for Democrats.It’s currently held by Rep. David Jolly, a Republican who decided to run for U.S. Senate when it became clear the seat would become difficult for a Republican to win.The new seat includes South St. Petersburg’s largely black, Democratic-leaning voters.Democrat Eric Lynn is already running for the seat. He raised $150,000 during the third quarter, and has $500,000 cash on hand.
Is anyone surprised that this latest move from Crist is a safe, opportunistic one? His last bid for governor ended in a huge upset, when Rick Scott won re-election by the skin of his teeth.
Scott’s eleventh hour finish was a boon for Republicans, who were successful in blaming Florida’s economic problems on the previous Crist administration. A majority of Florida voters believed that Crist switched parties, from Republican to Democrat, not for ideological reasons but to forward his own political career.
Still, his failed bid gained him appeal with blacks, Hispanics, moderates, and younger voters, so if this district is as “safe Democrat” as it seems, we could be looking at at least a few more years of relevancy for Charlie Crist.
The internet is delighted to hear the news:
I concur.
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