Florida Governor elections 2022: Who is Charlie Crist? Here’s all you need to know about the politician challenging Ron DeSantis

Charlie Crist’s has served as a governor in Florida earlier. He’s looking for a second stint as Florida governor. He has witnessed many changes in his life in the past.

The first-time Floridan voters see Christ as a reliable Democrat, who will challenge the incumbent Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, a fierce politician with a firm stand on masks and vaccines and issues like abortion, education, voting rights and personal freedom. DeSantis is highly regarded among the Republicans and seen as a natural successor to Trump's legacy.

What these new voters may not realise is that Crist, now 66, was also a Republican once and was elected as Florida's Governor in 2006 after defeating Jim Davis, a Democrat, in the general election.





Crist has donned several hats during his long career as a politician and has held several offices in the state, ranging from education commissioner, U.S. Senator, and attorney general, before becoming the Governor in 2006. His most recent assignment was at the U.S. House, representing the 13th Congressional District, which covers Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Largo.

Crist's shift from being a Republican to an Independent and now a Democrat makes his quest for the second term as Governor intriguing.

Here are some interesting facts about Charlie Crist you may want to know:

• Crist was born to parents Charles Joseph Crist and Nancy in 1956 in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
• His father was an American Physician of Lebanese and Greek Cypriot descent, while his mother was Scots-Irish, Welsh and Swiss.
• Crist's name was adopted from the Greek name "Christodoulos."
• In 1981, he graduated from Cumberland School of Law and was hired as General Counsel to Minor League Baseball.
• He played as quarterback during the 1974-75 seasons for the Wake Forest football team.
• Connie Mack III is his political mentor.
• In 1988, Crist lost the U.S. Senate election to Democrat Bob Graham.
• He served as the state Senate, Florida Attorney General, and state Education Commissioner before being elected Governor in 2006.
• In 2009, he became the first governor of Florida to not run for re-election since 1964.
• Crist switched to an Independent after he lost to Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate elections in 2010.
• As a Democrat, he lost the race to Rick Scott, the Republican incumbent, for Florida Governor in 2014.
• In 2012, Crist supported the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama over Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
• In the same year, as a speaker at Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Crist said that he did not leave the Republican Party, but the party left him.
• Crist is the co-author of a book about how the Grand Old Republican Party was hijacked by the Extreme Right, pushing him to become a Democrat. In this book published in 2014, Crist claims that a hug between him and Barack Obama destroyed his career in the Republican Party in 2009.