Imagine being a candidate for political office who is so unliked in a professional capacity that your former colleagues felt compelled to write an open letter endorsing your opponent. That would be quite embarrassing, right?
But that’s exactly what just happened to Charlie Crist, the former Florida lawmaker running in the 2022 gubernatorial race as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Democratic challenger. Crist, once a Republican, worked with many of the state’s former top leaders and politicians. Apparently, he didn’t leave much in the way of a good impression.
According to Florida Politics, an embarrassingly long list of Crist’s former colleagues published an open letter in which they strongly endorsed DeSantis for the governor’s mansion, calling the current governor the obvious choice for Florida in 2022 and beyond.
“Together, we have known Charlie in virtually all phases of his career and public life,” the letter begins. “We are well-qualified to endorse in the Florida Governors’ race because we have significant experience in public service to the state of Florida.”
That’s when his former colleagues, which include Crist’s former chief of staff, George LeMieux, and Jeff Kottcamp, Crist’s former lieutenant governor, dropped an absolute bomb on Crist’s already struggling campaign.
“The choice this November could not be more clear: we unanimously endorse Governor Ron DeSantis for re-election,” Crist’s former colleagues, 36 in total, wrote.
LETTER: pic.twitter.com/9I0N2fFmLK
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) October 25, 2022
“Governor DeSantis has delivered for Florida. He has led our state with courage and conviction. He has demonstrated his ability to lead us through difficult times,” they went on. “We stand with Governor DeSantis because the stakes are too high. We urge Florida to re-elect Ron DeSantis as our Governor.”
Florida Politics added:
Former Attorney General Bill McCollum and former Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, both members of the Florida Cabinet during Crist’s term as Governor, signed on to the letter. So did Ken Pruitt and Jeff Atwater, former lawmakers who served as Senate President during Crist’s term as Governor.
Some of those on the letter worked under Crist but now work within DeSantis’ administration, including Stephanie Kopelousos, DeSantis’ legislative director, and Dane Eagle, DeSantis’ Secretary of Economic Opportunity. Kopelousos served as Transportation Secretary under Crist, and Eagle served as Crist’s Deputy Chief of Staff.
Jason Gonzales, Crist’s chief counsel, also signed the letter. Gonzales has been widely credited with helping Crist shape the Florida Supreme Court with appointments.
The letter came in the wake of the one and only Florida gubernatorial debate between Crist and DeSantis on Monday night. The two sparred on a number of white-hot political issues, including abortion, 2024 politics, Hurricane Ian, and the inappropriate sexualization of young children in school.
The debate line of the night, according to many observations on social media, had to do with DeSantis’ description of the Democratic challenger he aims to sink in November.
“I know that Charlie’s interested in talking about 2024 and Joe Biden, but I just want to make things very, very clear. The only worn-out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist,” DeSantis said in a response, drawing audible cheers from the audience.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: “I know Charlie wants to talk about 2024 and Joe Biden, but I just wanna make things very, very clear: The only worn-out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist.” pic.twitter.com/bxEGW83B8u
— Kyle Morris (@RealKyleMorris) October 24, 2022
According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling data, DeSantis has maintained a sizeable lead on Crist for the entire race, even pulling ahead to an eight-point lead in recent weeks and landing an 11-point lead in a recent Florida Atlantic University poll. FiveThirtyEight’s models say DeSantis is “clearly favored” to win on Nov. 8.
It’s not a surprise at this point. The people of Florida are sick and tired of the dangerous, woke garbage spewed by Crist, the Biden administration, and other members of the Democratic Party. They clearly intend on keeping DeSantis in power, as Floridians understand that without someone like DeSantis, their basic freedoms are quite literally at stake.
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