Democrat gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) is sounding the alarm, attempting to rally the left’s base in Florida by deeming Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) the “biggest threat to democracy” since former President Donald Trump.
“We’re going to go up against the biggest threat to democracy we’ve seen since Trump: Ron DeSantis,” Crist said in what he presumably hoped to be a valiant tweet.
“Victory will only be possible if we show up in large numbers,” he continued, bravely asking his followers to retweet his battle cry to gain more followers ahead of Florida’s primary race on Tuesday:
Crist has long been considered the frontrunner in the Democrat gubernatorial primary race in the Sunshine State, with Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried (D) standing as his main competitor. Current polls are sending mixed signals on what could be a tight matchup on Tuesday.
Agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried speaks at a pre-legislative news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019 in Tallahassee, Fla. (Steve Cannon/AP)
Crist has attempted to out-radicalize his closest competitor throughout the primary race, deeming DeSantis a threat to democracy itself, despite the governor rising to the national spotlight after standing up against big government mandates, rules, and restrictions throughout and after the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. Notably, Crist said on the campaign trail that he would be open to forcing masks in Florida if so-called experts advised it. He remains in like-minded company, however, as Fried has also described DeSantis as a “danger to democracy.”
In this 2014 file photo, then Vice President Joe Biden stands with former Florida Governor Charlie Crist during a campaign event. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
In the months following the pandemic, DeSantis prioritized protecting children from woke indoctrination in schools, signing the Parental Rights in Education bill, which bars inappropriate classroom discussions on gender identity and sexual orientation for children in kindergarten through third grade. At the time, Crist mourned the law, declaring it a “grim day” now that teachers could no longer inject transgender ideology into classrooms of young children:
Further, Crist proudly announced in June that he would prioritize protecting the dismemberment of unborn children (though he called it “reproductive freedom”) on day one in office:
DeSantis, on the other hand, signed a 15-week abortion ban bill in April, and despite legal challenges, the governor has held steady.
“These are unborn babies that have heartbeats, they can feel pain, they can suck their thumb. And to say that the state constitution mandates things like dismemberment abortions — I just don’t think that’s the proper interpretation,” he said over the summer.
Crist’s plea for massive turnout is not an unwarranted cry, as registered Republicans now outnumber registered Democrats in the state by more than 200,000 voters.