Former Gov. Charlie Crist is expected to launch his latest comeback attempt on Tuesday as the former Republican, now Democrat, now turns his eyes to Congress -- and, despite his past defeats, he has something of a homefield advantage.
Crist is set to “make a major announcement Tuesday morning in St. Petersburg around 10:30 AM” his team announced on Friday. The former governor is expected to launch his bid for the congressional seat currently held by U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., who is running for the U.S. Senate in 2016.
Elected governor as a Republican in 2006 after serving in the state Cabinet as education commissioner and attorney general, Crist ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010 but, after backing President Barack Obama’s federal stimulus, was caught by Marco Rubio and left the GOP. Running for the Senate with no party affiliation, Crist placed a distant second behind Rubio in the general election. That marked Crist’s second Senate bid after his loss against U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., in 1998.
After losing to Rubio, Crist endorsed Obama for a second term and joined the Democrats in December 2012. Running as his new party’s candidate in 2014, Crist came up short against Gov. Rick Scott in last year’s election.
Over the weekend, Crist took to social media, urging his supporters to ensure they were on his email lists as he promised “important news to share” on Tuesday.
Crist does not have an open shot at the Democratic nomination. Eric Lynn, who worked at the Defense Department in the Obama administration, is running for the Democratic nomination. Former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and Manuel Sykes, a pastor who flirted with running for Congress before as a Democrat, are possible candidates on the Republican side.
Even with his recent electoral struggles, Crist has always done well in his home base in Pinellas County. In 2010, Crist edged Rubio by 2 percent in Pinellas County, beating out the Republican by 2 percent and doing far better there than in other parts of the state. Four years later, Crist did even better in Pinellas County, beating Scott 52 percent to 41 percent while Libertarian Adrian Wylie pulled 6 percent.
Jolly’s district currently includes parts of Pinellas County. Most base maps proposed in the current round of redistricting keep the district based in Pinellas but gives Democrats more of an edge than its current makeup. After the Legislature failed to reach common ground on redistricting during a special session this summer, the state’s judicial branch is currently handling the matter.
If Crist is elected to the U.S. House, he would be one of a handful of former governors to serve in that chamber. Most have come from smaller states like former U.S. Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del. Still, one of the most prominent politicians in Florida history transitioned from holding a major statewide office to serving in the U.S. House. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1936, Florida Democrat Claude Pepper was defeated for re-election in 1950. In 1962, Pepper made a political comeback, winning a U.S. House seat. Pepper served in the House until his death in 1989.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
