Darryl Rouson has risen to become a political power in St. Petersburg -- as it happens, much to Charlie Crist’s chagrin.
Though the two once were allies, inside sources tell Sunshine State News the relationship between Rouson and Crist is now strained at best. The problem: Crist distanced himself from Rouson in the primary to please Florida Democratic Party leadership; now Rouson is giving Crist back as good as he got, at a time when his former ally suddenly finds himself in a tightening race against Republican incumbent David Jolly.
Only three years ago, Crist and Rouson were political comrades. A 2013 Miami Herald article recalled the time Crist called up Rouson before he went to speak with Manatee County Democrats.
Rouson and Crist have much in common politically. Both are former Republicans -- and when Rouson switched parties in 2007, he said Crist stayed by his side. He was his friend, even though their political parties would have dictated otherwise.
“He is a man of great courage and he is my friend,” Crist told more than 300 Democrats at the time. “We have both been on the other side. But we both saw the light and we are here.”
Despite his Republican past, Rouson was welcomed by Democrats with open arms -- at one point, they even made him minority House leader in 2014.
Yet, despite that, sources close to Rouson say he doesn’t have a lot of political history with Democrats, so the mainstream members of the party haven’t put full faith in him.
That’s because Rouson doesn’t operate solely by the Democratic agenda. He marches to the beat of his own drum, opting to do what he feels is best for his district instead of what he is told to do by Dems.
Mainstream Democrats counted Rouson out when he opposed Ed Narain in the Senate primary in August. In fact, Dems' lack of faith in Rouson was so strong that they all showed up at Narain's victory party -- only to leave at the end of the night with a giant "L" on their foreheads.
It was a nail-biter of a four-way campaign for the seat. But Rouson ultimately came out on top, winning the SD 19 Democratic nomination by fewer than 100 votes.
His victory was the result of an intense, on-the-ground field campaign executed on an incredibly tight budget -- something not many Florida politicians, if any -- have accomplished.
But Crist, whose endorsement would have been a huge plus for Rouson’s tightly contested primary run -- and possibly given him more exposure in a redrawn district -- refused to publicly back his friend. He left Rouson in the dust to appease mainstream Democrats.
It struck a sour note with Rouson, and left a bitter taste.
Now the tables have turned. The former governor could use Rouson’s help, especially in the wake of incessant reminders of his "chain gang" past, which have resonated in the black community. Crist, seeing an opportunity to advance his own political agenda, reached out to Rouson for help.
When asked to endorse Crist in his CD 13 race against Jolly, Rouson refused.
A little over a week ago, Crist asked Rouson for a contribution to his campaign -- and Rouson, no doubt with Charlie's brush-off still fresh in his mind, again refused.
Part of Rouson’s primary-winning strategy centered around turning out the African-American vote, getting the black community fired up to show up at the polls for him.
Rouson could have helped Crist in South St. Petersburg, going into the neighborhoods, countering Jolly’s recent attacks claiming Crist isn’t a friend to blacks. But he has not. He's only watched the chips fall where they may.
Jolly, on the other hand, has continued to hack away at Crist's record, all the while running a ground campaign which has heavily focused in South St. Petersburg for the last month. And though Rouson hasn't endorsed either candidate in the race, he's joint-headlined local events with David Jolly -- a photo of the two even appears in a new ad running on cable TV in the district.
With nine days left until Election Day, the black vote could easily be the tipping point in a tight race. On Sunday, Crist made appearances in South St. Petersburg, where the narrative has been sharply turned against him for weeks. But is he too late to make amends?
Unfortunately for Crist, his priorities seem to be elsewhere. For most of his campaign, he's focused on appeasing the mainstream members of his party, turning out at "white" venues and he's missed out on key opportunities to bridge the gap and make amends with the African-American community. He skipped an NAACP debate where he had the chance to clarify his stances both on political issues and on his checkered past -- but he simply didn't show up.
By failing to show, say political observers, Crist didn't just miss a chance to connect with the black community, he made enemies of a lot of people.
Crist's snub of Rouson, who essentially should have been his strong ally throughout the race, is his own undoing, say those watching the race -- and Rouson's non-intervention policy hits him where it hurts.
