Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist Jr. (/ˈkrɪst/; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician. He is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 13th congressional district since 2017. He had also served as the 44th Governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011.
Charlie Crist | |
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![]() Official portrait, 2017 | |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 13th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2017 | |
Preceded by | David Jolly |
44th Governor of Florida | |
In office January 2, 2007 – January 4, 2011 | |
Lieutenant | Jeff Kottkamp (2007-2011) |
Preceded by | Jeb Bush |
Succeeded by | Rick Scott |
35th Attorney General of Florida | |
In office January 7, 2003 – January 2, 2007 | |
Governor | Jeb Bush |
Preceded by | Richard Doran |
Succeeded by | Bill McCollum |
21st Education Commissioner of Florida | |
In office January 3, 2001 – January 7, 2003 | |
Governor | Jeb Bush |
Preceded by | Tom Gallagher |
Succeeded by | Jim Horne |
Member of the Florida Senate from the 20th district | |
In office November 3, 1992 – November 3, 1998 | |
Preceded by | Constituency redistricted |
Succeeded by | Jim Sebesta |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles Joseph Crist, Jr. July 24, 1956 Altoona, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic (2012–present) |
Other political affiliations | Republican (1974–2010) Independent (2010–2012) |
Spouse(s) | Amanda Morrow (1979–1980) Carole Rome (2008-2017) |
Residence | St. Petersburg, Florida |
Education | Wake Forest University Florida State University (BA) Samford University (JD) |
Signature | ![]() |
Website | House website |
Early lifeEdit
Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He studied at Wake Forest University, at Florida State University, and at Samford University.
Political careerEdit
Crist began his political career as a Republican, serving in the Florida Senate from 1993 to 1999, running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1998 when he challenged then-current Senator Bob Graham. He later as Florida Education Commissioner from 2001 to 2003 and Florida Attorney General from 2003 to 2007, before being elected Governor in 2006.
Crist decided not to run for re-election as Governor in 2010, instead announcing on May 12, 2009 that he was running for the U.S. Senate seat being left by Republican Senator Mel Martinez. After leading in the race at first for the Republican nomination, he was overtaken in the polls by Marco Rubio, and in April 2010, Crist left the Republican Party and ran as an Independent.[1] In the general election, he lost to Rubio in a three-way race, taking 30% of the vote to Rubio's 49% and Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek's 20%. Crist's term as Governor ended in January 2011.
On December 7, 2012, he joined the Democratic Party, having endorsed President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012.[2] On November 1, 2013, he announced that he was running for governor in the 2014 election.[3] However, he lost to the incumbent Governor Rick Scott, losing by a 1% margin.[4]
In 2016, Crist was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 13th congressional district, defeating incumbent David Jolly by a margin of 52%-48%.[5]
Crist is one of the few politicians that lost an election as a Republican, Democrat and Independent candidate.[6]
Crist was mentioned as a possible candidate for Florida governor in the 2022 election against Republican governor Ron DeSantis.[7] Crist announced his nomination for governor for the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2022 election.[8]
Personal lifeEdit
Crist married Amanda Morrow in 1979, but divorced a year later in 1980. He later married Carole Rome in 2008. They divorced in 2017.[9]
Crist now lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ Wallsten, Peter; Bauerlein, Valerie (April 29, 2010). "Crist Looks to Go It Alone". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ "Changing Affiliation Again, Former Governor of Florida Becomes a Democrat". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 8, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
- ↑ Associated Press (November 1, 2013). "Ex-GOP Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist to run for job as Democrat". Politico. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
- ↑ "Florida Election Watch - Home Page". floridaelectionwatch.gov.
- ↑ "Florida Election Results 2016: House Live Map by District, Real-Time Voting Updates". Election Hub.
- ↑ Adam C. Smith; Steve Bousquet; Katie Sanders (November 4, 2014). "Florida Gov. Rick Scott defeats Charlie Crist for re-election". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
- ↑ Manjarres, Javier (2020-12-31). "Charlie Crist may run against Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022". The Floridian. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ↑ Mazzei, Patricia (2021-05-04). "Charlie Crist, a Florida Democrat, will run against DeSantis for governor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
- ↑ Smith, Adam C (February 24, 2017). "Charlie Crist files for divorce from wife Carole". Miami Herald. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
Other websitesEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charlie Crist. |
- Official Congressional website
- Charlie Crist official campaign site
- Charlie Crist at the Open Directory Project
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Vote Smart
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Collected news and commentary at The New York Times