Former Gov. Charlie Crist is mulling over a return to Tallahassee in 2022.
The current Democratic Congressman from Pinellas County says he's being urged to run against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is up for reelection next year.
“You know, several close friends have urged me to consider it,” Crist said. “And I am considering it. And am flattered to even been thought of. But having done the job before, I know what it's about, and I think that Florida deserves better than we're getting right now.”
Crist said the state's rollout of the coronavirus vaccine has been botched, leaving countless people vulnerable.
“It's been a disaster,” he said. “It breaks my heart that we're getting generally over 200 of our fellow Floridians dying every day. We're fast approaching 30,000 total Floridians who have died from COVID-19. And I just think that the distribution seems to be leaderless.”
Crist also assailed DeSantis for a lack of transparency in office and a lack of interaction with the public.
“I mean, we're the Sunshine State. We have Sunshine Laws that are supposed to enforce transparency, because our government is supposed to be of the people, by the people and for the people,” Crist said. “And that's not what we're getting out of our current administration in Tallahassee.”
He served as a Republican governor before losing a bid for Senate as an independent. He then became a Democrat, and after losing to Rick Scott for governor in 2014, won his House seat two years later.
