Source: Politics<\/p>\n
TALLAHASSEE \u2014 Rep. Charlie Crist switched parties almost a decade ago \u2014 but the party has moved on.<\/p>\n
As the former Republican prepares a potential bid to unseat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the 64-year-old Crist must somehow convince skeptical Democrats that he can energize the diverse coalition that now makes up the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he excites the part of the base that we need to propel a statewide campaign,\u201d said Thomas Kennedy, a newly-elected member of the Democratic National Committee from Florida. \u201cI don\u2019t think a former Republican governor \u2014 who has lost statewide before and, quite frankly, hasn\u2019t been at the forefront of the battles that have roiled this county in the last four years \u2014 is going to be able to take on what\u2019s going to be a really tough race against Ron DeSantis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crist, a two-term congressman who served as the state\u2019s governor more than a decade ago, hasn\u2019t officially jumped into the race. But he\u2019s reached out to political consultants, major donors such as famed attorney John Morgan, long-time friends like Broward Mayor Steve Geller and other politicians about whether he should try to reclaim the job he once held. Along the way, some of his past allies are beginning to work with other potential Democratic candidates.<\/p>\n
When asked whether he\u2019s the right candidate for now, Crist retorts: \u201cI got two words: Joe Biden. Look at what happened in our last election.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Biden managed to win the Democratic nomination and presidency, he lost to President Donald Trump in Floridax, and the GOP picked up both congressional and legislative seats in an election that some view as evidence that Florida is losing its reputation as the nation\u2019s largest battleground state.<\/p>\n
Crist\u2019s political evolution over the past three decades has shown he is a survivor. As a Republican, he went from state senator to attorney general to winning the governor\u2019s race in 2006. Part of his ascent included a tough-on-crime persona that earned him the nickname \u201cChain Gang Charlie.\u201d He was seen a rising star and was even mentioned as a possible running mate with John McCain.<\/p>\n
But instead of anticipating the anger that triggered the Tea Party movement, Crist made the ill-fated decision to (literally) embrace then-President Barack Obama and praise him for the stimulus package that was pushed through during the Great Recession. Within a few years, Crist became an independent, lost a U.S. Senate race to Marco Rubio and was briefly out of politics before switching parties and running for governor again.<\/p>\n
Crist\u2019s pathway to another statewide election is likely to be much different this time around. Instead of a primary where he is challenged by a lone Democratic lawmaker, he could be going up against a line of contenders, including current Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried.<\/p>\n
Geller, a former state legislator and someone who has known Crist since they both were at Florida State University, said he worries that Crist and one or two other centrist candidates from the Biden wing of the party would split the vote and allow a progressive to win the primary only to lose the general election.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like Nikki (Fried),\u201d Geller said. \u201cIf Charlie is not running, I could easily support her. But I think Charlie\u2019s a stronger candidate because he has run for governor before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morgan, who once hired Crist to work at his well-known law firm Morgan & Morgan and remains a close friend, said he has cautioned Crist that it won\u2019t be easy to knock off DeSantis even if he makes it through a Democratic primary. Morgan said by the time the 2022 elections come around, the coronavirus pandemic may be in the \u201crear view mirror\u201d and criticisms of DeSantis\u2019 handling of the crisis may lose their sting.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeSantis is a cold fish and not warm and fuzzy, but do we need warm and fuzzy?\u201d asked Morgan, who recently hosted Crist at his home in Maui. \u201cI made those arguments to Charlie. What would be your rallying cry? When you are running, you are asking the electorate to fire him for doing a bad job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another long-time friend, Watson Haynes, president and CEO of the Pinellas County Urban League, had no such reservations and cited Crist\u2019s past work at restoring voting rights to felons as just one reason to back him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI encouraged him,\u201d said Haynes, who said he called Crist in late January after he began hearing rumblings that he may run. \u201cI told him it would be a great idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crist cites several factors that he says makes him a viable candidate, including that he lost to incumbent Gov. Rick Scott by just 64,000 votes in 2014. Crist notes the election was razor tight even though Scott substantially outspent him, including infusing nearly $13 million of his own money in the final days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still only lost by one point in a massive election where millions of votes were cast,\u201d Crist said in an interview with POLITICO. \u201cIt\u2019s not the most discouraging conclusion. Look if I had lost by 10 or 20 points then \u2014 \u2018Peace. Out. You are done with this venture.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet the past accomplishments and narrow loses are still a tough sell, especially to Democrats who recall that he once was a Republican.<\/p>\n
Kira Willig, who was a DNC delegate for Sen. Bernie Sanders in both 2016 and 2020, said it\u2019s time for Democrats to move on from Crist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what vision he represents,\u201d Willig said. \u201cHe is from the era that some Democrats still cling to where we think Republican will vote for a Republican-lite on the ticket. He already lost to Rick Scott and didn\u2019t bring out the coalition of voters he needed.\u201d<\/p>\n