Former Florida governor and Democrat Rep. Charlie Crist (FL-13) defeated Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried in the state’s Primary Election on Tuesday. Crist will run against GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the gubernatorial election in November.
Decision Desk called the race at 8 p.m. EDT.
Decision Desk HQ projects Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) is the winner of the Democratic nomination for Governor in Florida. He will face incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in November.#DecisionMade: 8:00pm EDT
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) August 24, 2022
Follow more results here: https://t.co/KLOotFXNX0
Crist served as the 44th Governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 as a Republican. He has represented Florida’s 13th congressional district since 2017 as a Democrat. Crist began his political career as a Republican in the state senate from 1993 to 1999. He then served as Florida Education Commissioner from 2001 to 2003 and Florida Attorney General from 2003 to 2007. Following his tenure as governor, Crist was an Independent for a few years.
Crist ran for Florida governor as a Democrat – and failed – in 2014. He lost to Republican incumbent Rick Scott.
On Twitter, Crist pinned a tweet saying that he will protect abortion rights in Florida on his first day in office. This came after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
On my first day as governor, I will sign an Executive Order to protect reproductive freedom in Florida.
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) June 25, 2022
On Election Day, Fried also used abortion rights as a rallying call for voters.
Polls close at 7 PM. Don’t miss your chance to make DeSantis a one-term governor.
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) August 23, 2022
Townhall has covered how Crist has switched political parties over the years. However, in recent polls, Crist was favored over Fried by Florida Democrats. Fried is known to be more progressive than Crist.
Now, Crist will run against DeSantis in November. As Guy covered, polls show that DeSantis will likely defeat the former governor.
The Republican Governor's Association Executive Director Dave Rexrode issued a statement on Crist's win in the Democratic primary.
“Ron DeSantis has been a champion for freedom and has fought to grow Florida’s economy, give parents a say in their child’s education, and protect the rights of workers and small businesses,” said RGA Executive Director Dave Rexrode. “Charlie Crist has stood in lockstep with Joe Biden as he played nice with dictators in Cuba and Venezuela and his failed economic policies raised taxes and increased the cost of living across every sector of the economy. We’re confident he’ll be rejected for a third time this November, and we look forward to Governor DeSantis’ decisive re-election.”
View the results from Decision Desk below.