Crist, a two-term congressman who served as state governor for over a decade, has not officially entered the race. But he sought out political consultants, big donors like famous lawyer John Morgan, longtime friends like Broward Mayor Steve Geller and other politicians to see if he should try to get his job back. Along the way, some of his former allies are starting to work with other potential Democratic candidates.
When asked if he is the right candidate for now, Crist replies: “I have two words: Joe Biden. See what happened in our last election. “
Although Biden won the Democratic nomination and presidency, he lost to President Donald Trump in Florida, and the Republican Party won seats in Congress and the Legislature in an election that some see as proof that Florida is losing its reputation as the largest. battle state of the country.
Crist’s political evolution over the past three decades has shown that he is a survivor. As a Republican, he went from state senator to attorney general and won the race for governor in 2006. Part of his rise included a tough crime personality that earned him the nickname “Chain Gang Charlie”. He was seen as a rising star and even mentioned as a possible running mate with John McCain.
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 during the Great Recession. Within a few years, Crist became independent, lost a run to the United States Senate to Marco Rubio, and was briefly out of politics before changing sides and running for governor again.
Crist’s path to another state election is likely to be very different this time. Instead of a primary where he is challenged by a lone Democratic legislator, he could be facing a line of contenders, including current agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried.
Geller, a former state legislator and someone who has known Crist since they were both at Florida State University, said he fears that Crist and one or two other centrist candidates from the party’s Biden wing will split the vote and allow a progressive to win only the primary. to lose the general election.
“I like Nikki (Fried),” said Geller. “If Charlie isn’t running, I could easily support you. But I think Charlie is a stronger candidate because he’s run for governor before. “
Morgan, who has already hired Crist to work at his well-known law firm Morgan & Morgan and remains a close friend, said he warned Crist that it will not be easy to overthrow DeSantis even if he passes the Democratic primaries. Morgan said that when the 2022 elections arrive, the coronavirus pandemic may be in the “rear view mirror” and criticism of the way DeSantis has dealt with the crisis may fade.
“DeSantis is a cold fish and not hot and fuzzy, but do we need something hot and fuzzy?” asked Morgan, who recently hosted Crist at his home in Maui. “I made these arguments for Charlie. What would be your battle cry? When you’re running, you’re asking the electorate to fire you for doing a bad job. ”