Like a horror movie villain who pops back up after everyone is convinced he’s dead and gone, Charlie Crist keeps reappearing. This time, he has announced that he is running for Congress – as a Democrat.
“We have a problem in Washington, there’s no question about it. Washington does not listen to the people. Unfortunately Washington bickers with itself,” Crist told about 40 supporters who gathered in Crist’s hometown of St. Petersburg on Tuesday morning.
You may recall that Crist served as Florida’s governor from 2007 to 2011. Many insiders looked at him as a rising Republican star, and he even came up in conversations regarding potential vice presidential names in 2008.
Crist ran for the Senate in 2010, and he found himself trailing Marco Rubio. After Rubio used a photo of Crist embracing Barack Obama, Crist dropped out of the primary and ran as an independent. Rubio went on to win the election.
Crist brought up the appearance with Obama at his campaign launch.
“I listened to the people when I stood with President Obama to help our economy get back on track. I wasn’t popular with my former party, but just because I listened, it was the right thing to do,” Crist said.
Since losing the 2010 election, Crist spent time commercially endorsing ambulance chasing law firm Morgan & Morgan (also the state’s largest Obama donor). His face appeared on billboards for the firm all over the Sunshine State.
Crist registered as a Democrat in 2014 and ran for governor against incumbent Republican Governor Rick Scott, who won the election. Crist seems poised to take advantage of court-ordered redistricting, which seems to ensure that the district, currently represented by Republican Steve Jolly, will go to the Democrats in 2016. Crist faces primary opposition from former Obama administration official Eric Lynn.
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Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock / Victor Maschek
