Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) is the projected winner of the Democrat gubernatorial primary race in Florida, meaning he will face off against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in November’s general election.
With 56.8 percent of the vote in, Crist lead with 61.1 percent of the vote to the state’s Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried’s 34.3 percent. She was thought to be Crist’s main challenger.
I’ve seen enough: Charlie Crist (D) defeats Nikki Fried (D) in the #FLGOV Dem primary and will face Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the fall.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) August 23, 2022
Charlie Crist wins Democratic nomination for Governor in Florida primary election. @NewsWire_US race call at 7:11pm EDT. #Election2022 pic.twitter.com/E7Cq9YUKwJ
— NewswireElects (@NewswireElects) August 23, 2022
Crist, a Republican turned Democrat who served as Florida’s governor from 2007-2011, has continued in his efforts to out-radicalize his Democrat opponent, calling it a “grim day” the day DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill, which bars inappropriate classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity for children in kindergarten through third grade:
https://twitter.com/CharlieCrist/status/1508511885150330894
He also said he is open to forced masking in Florida if so-called experts advised it, and he recently deemed DeSantis the “biggest threat to democracy we’ve seen since Trump.”
Further, Crist has made abortion a top issue of his campaign, vowing to sign an Executive Order to protect abortion on his first day in office:
On my first day as governor, I will sign an Executive Order to protect reproductive freedom in Florida.
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) June 25, 2022
Current polls show DeSantis comfortably leading Crist by an average of 6.2 percent.
