Former governor Charlie Crist has found a surrogate to go to bat for him in the black community in an eleventh-hour effort to reach black voters in Florida’s 13th congressional district. On Thursday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be hitting the airwaves in radio ads on Crist’s behalf.
The DCCC's campaign began Thursday and ends Monday in the Tampa market, with radio ads appearing on a variety of stations in order to reach the greatest amount of listeners possible. The ads are part of a generalized buy to promote Democrats in CD13 and CD7, which covers the Orlando area.
Crist is not directly named in the ad.
“We have the opportunity to build on all the progress we’ve made, to fight for the issues you and I believe in,” Obama says in the spot. “I’m doing everything I can to make sure our Democrats all around the country have what they need to win, and that’s why I need you. I need you to vote. I need you to make sure your friends, family, and neighbors vote.”
An announcer then says to vote for Democrats for Congress on Election Day.
Michelle Obama tells listeners to continue her husband’s work after he leaves the White House.
The First Lady says:
“This election is about more than the White House. This election is about planning for our children’s future. It’s about electing a Congress that will have our interests at heart. Support the issues that matter to you, work with our president, and continue my husband’s legacy, building on the progress we’ve made.”
The radio ads are part of the DCCC’s ploy to target black voters in the state’s hottest congressional race. Statewide, black turnout rates have been lower than they were when Obama ran for office in 2008 and 2012.
The black community has come front and center in the CD13 race in recent weeks — Jolly has spent significant time in South St. Petersburg, a predominantly black area in the district, attempting to turn out the vote in a district where participation has been lower than normal.
Crist, meanwhile, has relied heavily on prominent black figures on the national stage rather than inside the CD13 community. Earlier this week, he participated in a civil rights talk with Georgia Congressman John Lewis.
Comments made by Crist about fixing failing schools in South St. Pete during the forum drew criticism from community leaders who accused Crist of pandering to the black community since he hasn't actually made attempts to discuss solutions on remedying the area’s most vulnerable schools.
Maria Scruggs told Sunshine State News she believes Crist hasn't made a concentrated effort to reach out to black voters throughout his latest campaign for office. Crist skipped out on a debate held by a local NAACP chapter two weeks ago and opted to put up signs in Treasure Island instead.
“He's comfortable with the relationships in black community,” she explained. “He took that as ‘Well, I don’t really need to do a whole lot, I’m already in [with the people] there.’”
Now it appears Crist’s allies in Washington have caught onto what could be the determining factor in an already tight race. But is the DCCC too late to make it count?
Election Day is Tuesday.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
