Free Republic

President Joe Biden is nominating former Congressman and Florida’s 44th Governor, Charlie Crist, as the next U.S. Ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency. If confirmed by the Senate, Crist would serve as America’s representative on the ICAO Council, a 36-member body composed of electees from the ICAO’s 193 member states. He’d replace famed pilot Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger, whose “miracle” landing on the Hudson River in 2009 was dramatized in a feature film seven years later. Sullenberger has served as ICAO ambassador since December 2021. [Snip] In November 2021, the U.S. set a goal of...

ormer President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized Republican Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, but a compliment he paid to a Democrat in a message about DeSantis upset some of his supporters. In two posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump railed about the coverage DeSantis recently received on Fox News during the former president's recent trip to New York City. One of the messages included an aside about Charlie Crist, who ran on the Democratic ticket against DeSantis in Florida's gubernatorial race last year. "Florida was doing GREAT long before Ron DeSanctus got there. People are fleeing from New York...

This is hilarious. ‘CBS Mornings’ spent all day in Democrat precincts in Florida that Joe Biden ‘won’ in 2020 and they could not find one Charlie Crist supporter. Democrat grifter Charlie Crist is running against highly popular Republican incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis. Republicans boosted turnout in traditionally blue Miami-Dade.

Few Republican politicians elicit as much anger from Democrats as Gov. Ron DeSantis. But the animus they feel toward Florida’s incumbent governor hasn’t translated into big contributions for his Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist. The state’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee has struggled to raise the kind of big money necessary to compete in this year’s race against DeSantis, according to a review of campaign finance records, collecting less cash than some of the state’s previous nominees for governor, Democratic gubernatorial candidates in other states, and even the state’s U.S. Senate nominee this year, Val Demings. The shortfall has been a surprise to...

A video emerging from Rep. Charlie Crist’s (D-FL) journey on the campaign trail earlier this year shows the Democrat gubernatorial candidate, in his own words, affirming that he would be open to forced masking in Florida, over two years after the initial emergence of the Chinese coronavirus. Crist, who is challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the Sunshine State’s gubernatorial race, spoke to a group in Wilton Manors, Florida, earlier this year and was asked if he would be “open to mandating or regulating masks” as the leader of the state. Video of that exchange has now surfaced across social...

President bidden [sic] boarded Air Force One Monday to kick off a week of campaigning with the midterms about a week away. On Tuesday he’ll travel to South Florida. It’s there he’ll stump for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, who is looking to unseat Gov. Ron DeSantis. He’ll also campaign for Democratic challenger Val Demings. She is up against Sen. Marco Rubio.

A decent man or a bully? Our pick for governor.The governor should represent all Floridians, including those who disagree with him or didn’t vote for him. Charlie Crist would do that. Gov. Ron DeSantis does not — and would not. In 2018, DeSantis got 49.6% of the vote. In other words, more people voted for someone else. and a bully. Do you want the state governed by a decent man or a bully? The Tampa Bay Times recommends voting for Charlie Crist, a man of decency, for governor.A decent man or a bully? Our pick for governor.The governor should represent...

A recent poll conducted by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab shows that Gov. Ron DeSantis is up on Rep. Charlie Crist by a whopping 13 percentage points. The gubernatorial race between Gov. DeSantis and Rep. Crist is all but over. Early voting is already underway and momentum continues to swing to DeSantis. The poll comes a couple of days after DeSantis and Crist faced off in their first and only debate. The Real Clear Politics average of polls showed DeSantis up by 7 points as of yesterday, but this new UNF poll has boosted DeSantis’s overall...

Former staffers and colleagues of Democrat Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) challenger in Florida’s gubernatorial race, have openly endorsed the Republican governor over their ex-boss, concluding that the “choice could not be more clear.” The endorsement, delivered in the form of an open letter to Florida, features “former colleagues and staff” of Crist. “Together, we have known Charlie in virtually all phases of his career and public life,” the letter reads, identifying the undersigned as “well-qualified to endorse in the Florida Governor’s race because we have significant experience in public service to the state of Florida.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has opened a yawning lead over his Democratic rival with just three weeks to go before the Florida gubernatorial election, according to a new poll. DeSantis, who is seeking a second term, held an 11 point lead over Charlie Crist, the poll from Florida Atlantic University’s Business and Economics Polling Initiative found. ... Florida Senator Marco Rubio held a smaller but still comfortable advantage over his Democratic rival Rep. Val Demings, leading her 48% to 42%, the poll found. The incumbent enjoyed a 53% approval rating, while 63% of respondents said they approved of DeSantis’ handling...

Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), who is challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in Florida’s gubernatorial race, appears to be fundraising on the assertion that DeSantis “utterly failed to respond” to Hurricane Ian. “Folks, DeSantis utterly failed to respond to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian,” a Crist fundraising email, shared by the DeSantis War Room, reads. “Hurricane Ian was a devastating storm that required REAL leadership — something that DeSantis is incapable of,” the email continues, asking to find 362 Americans “willing to agree with Charlie” and ultimately force DeSantis to “reckon” with his supposed failures:

The campaign manager overseeing former Rep. Charlie Crist’s bid to topple Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was arrested for domestic violence this week, according to a report. Austin Durrer was busted at his home in Cambridge, Maryland on Tuesday and now faces second-degree assault charges. Crist’s longtime aide was also ordered to vacate the residence he owns with his wife and surrender his guns as part of a $10,000 bail package in Dorchester County, according to Fox News.

The Florida Democrat's gubernatorial campaign did not disclose Austin John Durrer’s arrest, saying Wednesday that he resigned to “focus on a family matter.”

Veteran staffer and campaign manager Austin Durrer is leaving Charlie Crist’s gubernatorial campaign with less than three weeks left before Election Day...

The campaign insists Durrer's leaving is not the product of Crist's sagging poll numbers. Sydney Throop will take over the role. Throop previously ran Crist's congressional campaigns.

Florida's candidates for governor are set to go head-to-head on some of the top issues that are on voters' minds. Incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Democratic rival Charlie Crist have agreed on a date for a debate. The candidates will meet for a single public debate on Oct. 24. The debate will be held at the Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce. It was originally scheduled for Oct. 12 but was changed due to recovery efforts following Hurricane Ian.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is leading Democrat Charlie Crist by 11 points in race for the governor’s mansion in the Sunshine State, according to a poll released on Wednesday. The Mason-Dixon Florida poll found that 52 percent of likely voters supported DeSantis, compared to the 41 percent that backed Crist, a former governor and U.S. representative. DeSantis also had stronger support from his own party, with 92 percent of Republicans saying they would back the incumbent governor. Fewer Democrats, 84 percent, said they would support Crist, who was a Republican when he last served as governor.

Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), the Democrat nominee for governor in Florida, continued to send out fundraising emails while parts of the state were dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, despite claiming he would be “ceasing campaign operations.” During a virtual press conference on Friday to discuss Hurricane Ian’s impact on the state, Crist announced his campaign would be temporarily “ceasing campaign operations.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) leads Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) by double digits in Florida’s gubernatorial race, a recent Echelon Insights survey found. The survey asked respondents who they would vote for if the gubernatorial race were held today. DeSantis enjoys a ten-point advantage, leading Crist 52 percent to 42 percent. The Republican governor also enjoys more certainty among respondents, as 43 percent said they will “definitely” vote for him, compared to 31 percent who said the same for Crist. A poll from USA TODAY/Suffolk also found DeSantis comfortably leading his Democrat challenger by seven percentage points, or 48 percent...

Charlie Crist’s running mate, Karla-Hernández-Mats, is married to a man arrested for serving alcohol to a minor when he was twenty-six. Feliks Mats got arrested when he was a student at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN A twenty-six-year-old giving alcohol to a minor may or may not concern voters, but someone has been trying hard to erase all the evidence. Given that both Hernandez-Mats and her husband work in our school systems, the public has a right to know about this arrest. I started to write a post about an appearance Hernández-Mats scheduled for Sept. 15 in Palm Beach County...