Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has won the state’s Democratic nomination for governor, 11 years after serving in the role as a Republican.
Crist won with almost 60 percent of the vote while Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who was favored to win the nomination before Crist entered the race, received 30 percent on Tuesday.
Fried, 44, had made a name for herself as a staunch proponent of abortion rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade. She had also made headlines for going toe-to-toe with current Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican.
Fried argued in press releases sent from the Florida Department of Agriculture that DeSantis “has turned classrooms into battlegrounds to fight his culture wars and divide our state.”
Fried also called on the governor to denounce a group of Nazi demonstrators who marched outside a conservative event in July displaying both swastikas and signs expressing support for DeSantis.
Crist had also made DeSantis an integral part of his campaign, calling him “a wannabe dictator” and “the most arrogant governor I’ve ever seen in my life.”
This marks the 66-year-old Crist’s third run for Florida governor. His first, as a Republican, was successful, and he served as governor from 2007 to 2011. He became an independent in 2010, launching an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate and ultimately losing to Marco Rubio.
In 2012, Crist officially joined the Democratic Party and launched another bid for governor in 2014. He lost to Republican Rick Scott, but in 2016 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Crist will next face off against DeSantis in November.
Crist is a typical demcrat scum bag.
This idiot should be fed to the Gators!