The Republican Governors Association marked former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s entrance into the Florida gubernatorial race on the Democratic ticket with a statement bashing him as an opportunist who gave up being a Republican when things got tough.
“Charlie Crist was a failure as Governor and is a pure political opportunist who is out for himself,” Republican Governors Association Chairman Bobby Jindal (LA) said in a statement on Monday. “Under Crist, Florida lost over 800,000 jobs, saw their unemployment rate surge from 3.5 percent to 11.1 percent, and experienced a budgetary crisis that left the state sinking faster and faster.
“And when the going got tough, Charlie dropped his rifle, abandoned his post, and ran away from the people of Florida. If you like losing jobs and are looking for a politician who blows with the wind, Charlie Crist is your guy. Senator Marco Rubio said it best: ‘I don’t know of anyone who in over a decade has run as a Republican, an Independent and a Democrat. He’s running out of parties.'”
Crist is formally jumping into the race against Gov. Rick Scott (R) on Monday. While most Democrats have largely coalesced around the former Republican as their strongest chance to unseat Scott some have grumbled that Crist is only running as a Democrat because he sees an opening to get his old job that way.
