Senator Rick Scott isn’t letting Congressman Charlie Crist bask in the spotlight after announcing that he was running for Florida governor in 2022.
In a tweet shortly after Crist became the first Democrat to challenge Governor Ron DeSantis, Scott placed the crosshairs on Crist’s short stint as the Sunshine State’s governor, blaming the Florida Republican governor turned Democratic congressman for economic problems under his watch and for opting to run for another office when times got tough.
“Let’s take a trip down memory lane today to see what ACTUALLY happened when Charlie Crist was Governor of Florida. Hint: it wasn’t great,” Scott tweeted, along with a link to a political ad.”
Let’s take a trip down memory lane today to see what ACTUALLY happened when @CharlieCrist was Governor of Florida.
Hint: it wasn’t great.https://t.co/3aUA9Rb9yW https://t.co/8qynO2c5y8
— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) May 4, 2021
The video, a 30-second spot titled “Run Away,” sheds light on Crist’s record when he served as the state’s Republican governor from 2006 to 2010. The video criticizes Crist for leaving the governor’s mansion to run for the U.S. Senate during the fallout of the financial crisis and labels Crist a “flip-flop” for exiting the GOP for the Democatic Party.
The ad was released by the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) in 2014 during Scott’s gubernatorial reelection campaign.
“The numbers tell the story: Florida’s unemployment tripled, 800,000 jobs gone, property values down, bankruptcies up, more foreclosures than any state, government went deep in debt, state borrowing at an all-time high. Which governor took Florida to the bottom? Charlie Crist,” the ad states.
“What’s worse, he didn’t stay to fix the mess. He ran away — tried to go to Washington instead. Charlie Crist: slick politician, lousy governor.”
One of the toughest and most expensive gubernatorial elections, Scott would go on to win reelection 2014, picking up 64,145 more votes than Crist. Following his defeat, Crist would springboard to Congress, where he was elected in 2016 to serve Florida’s 13 Congressional District.
Crist will now look to play spoiler agan in 2022. Crist’s path to reclaim Florida’ throne, however, may prove difficult. Other than DeSantis being heavily favored, Crist will most likely have to clear hurdles in the Democratic primary. Both Congresswoman Val Demings and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried are expected to run.
Prediction markets have Demings and Fried above Crist.