Charlie Crist signs papers to become a Democrat

[seafan]

Source: Tampa Bay Times

It was just a matter of time. Charlie Crist is becoming a Democrat. ..... He did so during a Christmas reception at the White House, where President Barack Obama greeted the news with a fist bump for the man who had a higher profile campaigning for Obama's re-election this year than any Florida Democrat.

The widely expected move positions Crist, 56, for another highly anticipated step: announcing his candidacy for governor, taking on Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Scott and an untold number of Democrats who would challenge him for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

"I've had friends for years tell me, 'You know Charlie, you're a Democrat and you don't know it,' " Crist, a career-long populist, recounted Friday night from Washington, D.C.

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He has been a strong supporter of higher pay for teachers. He works for a leading trial lawyer. He was a leading advocate for civil rights as governor and attorney general. And though he describes himself as "pro-life," his voting record in the Legislature was mostly in favor of abortion rights. He has long been more of a populist than a pro-big business Republican.

"What changed is the leadership of the Republican Party," Crist said in a phone interview Friday night. "As I said at the convention, I didn't leave the Republican Party, it left me. Whether the issue was immigration, or education, or you name it — the environment. I feel at home now."

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/article1265224.ece

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Crist tweeted a photo of himself holding his voter registration form with his wife, Carole, Friday at the White House. “Proud and honored to join the Democratic Party,’’ he said.
(Twitter)



Welcome to the light, Governor. We've got a job for you in Tallahassee.