Charlie Crist Fundraises After ‘Ceasing Campaign Operations’ for Hurricane Ian

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.”

Crist announced his campaign team would host a “day of service” on Saturday to provide resources to those impacted by Hurricane Ian.

“Our team will be focused on one thing and one thing only, doing all we can to help our fellow Floridians,” Crist said. “This means ceasing campaign operations and combining our efforts to mobilize supplies and resources to the places they are are most needed.”

Crist’s decision to pause his campaign operations came days after he announced his campaign would suspend its political advertising in areas impacted by the hurricane.

However, despite both pledges to limit campaign operations in the wake of Hurricane Ian, the congressman continued to send his supporters emails begging for donations in his effort to unseat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Crist’s camp reportedly sent up to five emails focused on fundraising and did not mention the hurricane after his virtual press conference on Friday.

In one email, Crist claimed he and his team “are working around the clock to respond to DeSantis’s lies and spread the truth about his extremist agenda.”

“Please, chip in $5 (that’s all we need!) before it’s too late,” one email read.

In another fundraising email, Crist claimed he would take the weekend to discuss with his team “about some of our final plans as we enter the last full month before Election Day.”

Crist trails DeSantis by double digits, according to one poll that found he had 42 percent support among Floridians compared to DeSantis’s 52 percent. In another alarming sign for Crist, Republicans have outpaced Democrats in voter registration net gains by 492,000 voters, according to the most recent numbers.

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.