Charlie Crist

Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district from 2017 to 2022.

Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on July 24, 1956, to Charles Joseph Crist, an American physician of Greek Cypriot and Lebanese descent, and Nancy (née Lee), of Scots-Irish, Swiss, and Welsh descent.

His family name is adapted from the original Greek name "Christodoulos".

As a child, Crist moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he attended Riviera Junior High School and St. Petersburg High School, from which he graduated in 1974.

He is the second of four children and has three sisters: Margaret Crist Wood, Elizabeth Crist Hyden, and Catherine Crist Kennedy.

He attended Wake Forest University for two years.

While at Wake Forest, Crist was a walk-on quarterback for the Demon Deacons during his freshman and sophomore years, before transferring to Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Crist earned his undergraduate degree from Florida State, where he was elected vice president of the student body and joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

He received his J.D. from Samford University Cumberland School of Law.

After graduating from Cumberland School of Law in 1981, and passing the bar on his third attempt, Crist was hired as general counsel to Minor League Baseball, which was headquartered in St. Petersburg.

Drawn to politics, Crist was a candidate for public office for the first time in 1986, in the Republican primary for a state Senate seat in Pinellas County.

After losing in a runoff, Crist joined his brother-in-law in private practice in St. Petersburg, but soon returned to politics as an aide on the successful 1988 United States Senate campaign of Connie Mack III, whom he has since described as his political mentor.

In 1992, Crist was elected to a two-year term to the Florida Senate from the 20th District, which encompassed parts of St. Petersburg and South Tampa.

He defeated longtime incumbent Democratic state senator Helen Gordon Davis of Tampa, 58.3 to 41.7%.

Crist was able to unseat Gordon Davis following the 1992 decennial redistricting process, which significantly reconfigured the districts in the Tampa Bay area.

His victory was credited with helping to end the Democratic Party's 128-year control of the Florida Senate, as the Republicans netted three seats in 1992, resulting in a 20–20 tie between the parties.

Crist was known as a law-and-order senator, sponsoring legislation requiring inmates to serve at least 85% of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole.

He supported teacher salary increases, charter schools, and a specialty license plate for Everglades conservation.

Crist served in the Florida Senate from 1993 to 1999, vacating his seat to run unsuccessfully against incumbent Bob Graham for the U.S. Senate in 1998.

With Crist as chairman, the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee investigated actions of then-governor Lawton Chiles amid allegations that Chiles's campaign had made "scare calls" to senior citizens days before the 1994 gubernatorial election.

Chiles testified before the committee and admitted that his campaign had made the calls.

In 1994, Crist was reelected to a four-year term in the Senate, defeating Democrat Dana Lynn Maley with 63.3% of the vote.

Crist gained recognition in 1998 as the Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic U.S. senator Bob Graham.

He won a 2000 special election to serve as Florida education commissioner from 2001 to 2003 and a 2002 election to serve as Florida attorney general from 2003 to 2007.

He was elected Governor of Florida in 2006 after winning against Democrat Jim Davis.

While he was governor, Crist again ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010.

He initially led in polls in the race for the Republican nomination, but was later overtaken by Marco Rubio.

In April of that year, he left the Republican Party to run in the general election as an independent, losing to Rubio in a three-way race.

He took 30% of the vote to Rubio's 49% and Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek had 20%.

Crist's term as governor ended in January 2011.

In the 117th Congress, Crist was the only former governor serving in the House.

Crist was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election, resigning from the House in August 2022 to focus on his campaign.

He was defeated by incumbent governor Ron DeSantis in a landslide.

On June 7, 2023, the White House announced Crist's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency.

He is currently awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Crist has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2012; he was previously a Republican before becoming an independent in 2010.

On December 7, 2012, Crist joined the Democratic Party, having endorsed President Barack Obama for reelection in 2012.

On November 1, 2013, he announced that he was running for governor in the 2014 election.

Crist lost to Republican governor Rick Scott, his successor, by a 1% margin.

In 2016, Crist was elected to Congress from his home district, the St. Petersburg-based 13th, defeating incumbent Republican David Jolly, 52%–48% and becoming the first Democrat to represent this district since 1955.