Connie Mack: Charlie Crist Has 'Serious Character Flaw'

Despite his ties with former Gov. Charlie Crist, former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., announced on Thursday he was backing Gov. Rick Scott for a second term. Mack had been a key ally of Crist during his rise up the Republican ladder. Crist left the GOP in 2010 to run for the U.S. Senate with no party affiliation before joining the Democrats at the end of 2012.

Im proud to announce my wholehearted endorsement of Gov. Rick Scott for re-election, Mack said. I have had the opportunity to work with both Gov. Scott and Charlie Crist. Under Gov. Scott, Florida has created over 640,000 private-sector jobs, unemployment has dropped from 11.1 percent to 6.3 percent, the state debt has been cut by $4 billion, and tourism is at a record high.

"Under Charlie, over 830,000 jobs were lost and he burdened families with $2.2 billion in tax increases," Mack continued. "I am surprised and disappointed that for obvious political calculations he went from one day being a Reaganite to the next day hugging the extreme liberal policies of President Obama. This change doesnt reveal a new perspective on the world. It reveals a serious character flaw based solely on ambition. Its sad.

Mack was elected to the Senate in 1988 and served two terms before retiring.