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The speculation is over: Morgan & Morgan’s own Charlie Crist has announced he will run for governor of Florida in 2014. Crist, who served as the state’s governor as a Republican from 2007 to 2011, will seek the office this time as a member of the Democratic Party.
“Current Florida governor Rick Scott went from taking over Tallahassee to becoming the example of what’s wrong with the place,” Crist told a crowd of a few hundred people in St. Petersburg Monday. “The more I watched Rick Scott govern . . . and the more I heard from you people, I knew it was time to take Florida in a better direction. So today, I announce that I am running for governor of Florida.”
According to an account{:target="_blank"} of his announcement published online by the Tampa Bay Times, numerous state government officials, and even the former governor’s father, Dr. Charles Crist, were on hand to give the newly-minted gubernatorial candidate their support.
His reason for running for office again, Crist continued, is to “put you back in charge because you deserve a governor that wakes up every day thinking about you, who you can trust to govern honestly, in our collective best interest.”
Crist assures that his platform represents the best interests of all Floridians. In addition to promising a spending increase for education and infrastructure improvements, Crist says his platform will also feature a “broad new commitment” to renewable energy. During his announcement speech, “the people’s governor” stressed a back-to-basics approach, reminding voters that only they can “end this nonsense and get us back to common sense.”
“Tallahassee is out of control,” Crist said. “The voice of the people has been silenced by the financial bullies and the special interests. You really have no advocate there anymore.”
Crist’s announcement was not only geared toward Florida voters. The former Republican Governor also had some words for his adversaries that may still harbor some ill feelings toward him dating back to his first stint in the Florida Governor’s Mansion.
“When the people give you the honor of being their governor, you aren’t the governor of any one party, you are the governor of all Floridians,” Crist said Monday following his announcement in St. Petersburg. “So yes, yeah, I’m running as a Democrat! And I am proud to do it.”
Before his time as governor, Crist served in the Florida Senate and later as the state’s Education Commissioner from 2001 to 2003. Crist then served as Florida Attorney General from 2003 until 2007 before becoming governor.