Former staffers and colleagues of Democrat Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) challenger in Florida’s gubernatorial race, have openly endorsed the Republican governor over their ex-boss, concluding that the “choice could not be more clear.”
The endorsement, delivered in the form of an open letter to Florida, features “former colleagues and staff” of Crist.
“Together, we have known Charlie in virtually all phases of his career and public life,” the letter reads, identifying the undersigned as “well-qualified to endorse in the Florida Governor’s race because we have significant experience in public service to the state of Florida.”
“The choice this November could not be more clear: we unanimously endorse Governor Ron DeSantis for re-election,” the letter reads, concluding that DeSantis has “delivered for Florida.”
“He has led our state with courage and conviction,” the ex-staffers and colleagues wrote. “He has demonstrated his ability to lead us through difficult times. We stand with Governor DeSantis because the stakes are too high.”
The letter is signed by more than two dozen individuals, including George LeMieux, former U.S. Senator for Florida and former chief of staff to Crist; Charles Bronson, former commissioner of agriculture; Jeff Kottkamp, former lieutenant governor; Ken Pruitt, former Senate president, and others:
The endorsement comes on the heels of the first and only debate between DeSantis and Crist, where Crist bizarrely attempted to describe DeSantis as a lockdown governor. DeSantis, however, dismissed Crist’s baseless criticisms with facts.
“We have accomplished an awful lot over the past four years,” DeSantis said. “We have the largest budget surplus in history.”
During his closing statement, DeSantis contrasted his leadership style with that of Crist, who wanted to lock the state down during the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
“I took a lot of flak in the process. But through it all, I was always more concerned about protecting your job than I was about saving my own. I took the arrows so you wouldn’t have to. We have — we will continue to fight the good fight. We will continue to run the race. We will continue to keep the faith,” the governor added. “We’ve accomplished an awful lot, but we’ve only begun to fight.”
Tuesday’s RealClearPolitics average showed DeSantis leading Crist by ten percentage points.