Is former Gov. Charlie Crists influence growing within the Florida Democratic Party?
Crist famously left the Republicans in 2010 when Marco Rubio caught and surpassed him in the battle for the partys U.S. Senate nomination. After ditching the GOP, he continued his Senate campaign as a candidate with no party affiliation. Crist spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2012 and backed President Barack Obamas bid for a second term.
Late in 2012, Crist jumped over to the Democrats. The former governor is currently the favorite to be the Democrats candidate to take on Gov. Rick Scott in 2014. The only major candidate seeking the Democratic nomination so far is former state Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich. Former state CFO Alex Sink, who came up short against Scott in 2010, is weighing running for governor again.
Besides backing Obama and attending local and county party events, Crist is starting to show his strength in shaping the state Democrats. In late January,Allison Tant was selected as the new chairwoman of theFlorida Democrats.By backing Tant to head the Florida Democrats, Crist won a victory over Sink who supported Alan Clendenin for the position.
Crist may have scored another victory on Wednesday when Christian Ulvert was named to be political director of the Florida Democrats. A political veteran from Miami, Ulvert was very successful in the 2012 election cycle, leading the Democrats to pick up five seats in the Florida House after major setbacks in 2010.
Ulvert is also closely tied to former state Sen. Dan Gelber. When Gelber was the Democratic candidate for state attorney general against Republican Pam Bondi in 2010, Ulvert was his campaign manager.
Gelber, who led Democrats in the Florida House before moving over to the state Senate in 2008, has been a vocal supporter of Crist joining the party, even penning an op-ed back in August inviting Crist to join the Democrats.
Gelbers piece led to Republicans firing back at both the former state legislator and Crist.
But it also led political strategist and blogger Peter Schorsch to speculate that Gelber was a natural fit to be Crists running mate in 2014.
In the meantime, Tant is insisting that bringing Ulvert on board will help Florida Democrats who have not won a gubernatorial election since 1994.
We are excited to bring someone of Christians talent on board, said Tant in a statement on Wednesday. Christian brings a deep knowledge of Florida politics and strong relationships with elected officials to the partys operations. He will be a crucial member of our team as we build upon the gains of 2012 and work toward our No. 1 priority: defeating Rick Scott.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis piece exclusively for Sunshine State News.
