Democrat Charlie Crist has won the primary for governor in Florida and will face Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in November, in line with a race called by The Associated Press.
Charlie Crist served as Florida’s Republican governor for more than a decade in the past and is now a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The primary for governor has highlighted a break-up in the Democratic Party within the state. Crist’s opposition, Nikki Fried, Florida Agriculture Commissioner, hammered him over his record as governor and for switching his stance on problems like abortion and criminal justice.
As Charlie Crist gained victory Tuesday night, he thanked Fried for a lively campaign, but it became clear his points of interest have been firmly set on DeSantis: “The stakes couldn’t be any higher for this election. Our fundamental freedoms are actually at the ballot, my friends. Woman’s right to choose is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Your rights as minorities are on this ballot.”
On day one of my administration, I will sign an executive order which protects a women’s right to choose.”
When it involves winning elections, Crist has a mixed record. He left the Republican party in 2010 to run as an independent against Marco Rubio for the U.S. Senate. He made another run for governor as a Democrat in 2014, but he lost by approximately a percentage point to Republican Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator.
If he is to win in November, Crist will sway a number of the almost four million unaffiliated Florida electorate. Registered Republicans now outnumber registered Democrats in the state; however, statewide races have often been closed.
