Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist watches play as the Tampa Bay Rays host the New York Yankees on April 13, 2009 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Reporting Tim Kephart
CAMPAIGN 2012
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Former Governor Charlie Crist is wasting no time making inroads to the Democratic Party. The former Republican endorsed President Barack Obama for re-election Sunday and now has been given a speaking role at the Democratic National Convention, according to TalkingPointsMemo.com.
Crist left the Republican Party in 2010 after it became evident that he would not win the party’s nomination to run for an open Senate seat. Crist lost the election to current Senator Marco Rubio who established himself as the most conservative candidate during the tea party wave of 2010.
Since that election and leaving the governor’s mansion, Crist has largely been out of the spotlight. He currently is an independent, but rumors have swirled for months that he would join the Democratic Party and mount a challenge against current Governor Rick Scott in 2014.
Crist endorsed Obama in an editorial in the Tampa Bay Times on Sunday, just one day before the Republican National Convention was set to begin in Tampa. Crist said in part, “The truth is that the party (Republican Party) has failed to demonstrate the kind of leadership or seriousness voters deserve.”
Crist took shots at the Republicans for what he described as being on the ‘extreme right’ of issues important to “women, immigrants, seniors, and students that they’ve proven incapable of governing for the people.”
The Democratic National Convention is set to get underway next week in Charlotte, North Carolina.
