Could Charlie Crist have won reelection in 2010?

[Sir Mohamed]

If Charlie Crist didn't step aside in 2010 to run for senate as independent, would he have won reelection as governor? Consequently preventing Rick Scott from becoming gov in the first place.

I believe he may have been vulnerable in a GOP primary, but would have won the GE by more than Scott actually did. It's also interesting to discuss both scenarios of Crist either running as Republican or pulling a Arlen Specter and switching to Dems in 2009 already.

[Adam Griffin]

Of course - and it wouldn't have been particularly close.

[Sir Mohamed]

Of course - and it wouldn't have been particularly close.

It's really bizarre he wanted to become a senator instead of having an easier reelection as chief executive of a major states. FL, along with CA, TX and NY is one of the states I'd definitely prefer the governorship over a senate seat. Senate imho is only more valueable in small states.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Yes, but he endorsed Barak Obama and became a D similarly to Arken Specter anyways due to Obamacare

Actually, Beto now has a better chance at beating Abbott he is only down 4

[Orwell]

As a Democrat or Republican? As a Republican he probably wins by more than Scott if he makes it out of the primary. I think I read somewhere that Crist wasn't very popular among the GOP rank and file so he'd probably have at least some primary opposition. As a Dem, he'd have lost.

[Sir Mohamed]

As a Democrat or Republican? As a Republican he probably wins by more than Scott if he makes it out of the primary. I think I read somewhere that Crist wasn't very popular among the GOP rank and file so he'd probably have at least some primary opposition. As a Dem, he'd have lost.

I dunno, keep in mind how close Alex Sink already came and Crist would have incumbency.

[Orwell]

As a Democrat or Republican? As a Republican he probably wins by more than Scott if he makes it out of the primary. I think I read somewhere that Crist wasn't very popular among the GOP rank and file so he'd probably have at least some primary opposition. As a Dem, he'd have lost.

I dunno, keep in mind how close Alex Sink already came and Crist would have incumbency.

Dems wouldn't trust Crist though, he was a big McCain supporter and he had been wishy-washy. He was a shoe-in for the GOP Senate nod and a win, but he went too close to the Sun so Rubio would have beaten him in the GOP Senate primary.

[NewYorkExpress]

No. He would have lost a Republican Primary, just as he did in the Senate race IRL.

[Ferguson97]

He was a Republican in 2010 so yeah probably

[MARGINS6729]

Crist got pushed out by the Tea Party faction in the GOP who were furious with him for hugging Obama at a rally in Fort Myers.

''Crist is where he is in some quite literal sense because of a hug. In what remains the singular, most memorable moment in his long and varied political life, Charles Joseph Crist in February of 2009 embraced Barack Hussein Obama. At a time when Obama was all of three weeks into his first term and Crist was a wildly popular governor, eyeing a run at the U.S. Senate and seen by many as a potential president in his own right, Crist introduced Obama at a town-hall rally in Fort Myers — a gracious greeting followed by an indelible image. The hug radically altered the trajectory of Crist’s career, snuffing his future as a Republican. In retrospect, the repercussions for Crist were some of the earliest signs of the ratcheting up of the smash-mouth, zero-sum era that rages unabated today.''

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/04/01/charlie-crist-florida-governor-campaign-profile-00022016?fbclid=IwAR0ancOrJIahE1lJUVbTrcVowjt4zhX_rL9Lqi9CS_Jy73c_mPXMfOaSAv0

[JMT]

Yes, I think if Crist had just run for re-election as Governor as a Republican in 2010 he would’ve won the primary and general.

[Mr. Smith]

Yes.

But he'd be in the wilderness after 2014.

[JMT]

Of course - and it wouldn't have been particularly close.

It's really bizarre he wanted to become a senator instead of having an easier reelection as chief executive of a major states. FL, along with CA, TX and NY is one of the states I'd definitely prefer the governorship over a senate seat. Senate imho is only more valueable in small states.

If I had to guess, I imagine Crist ran for Senate because there’s no term limits. Had he won the Senate seat, he could’ve potentially remained in the Senate for a long time. Whereas as Governor, he would’ve been term limited in 2014 and therefore been out of office.

Also, when Crist ran for Senate he was initially viewed as the obvious frontrunner in the Republican primary. If I remember correctly, many thought Rubio would actually drop out and run for Governor instead of facing Crist. We obviously now know that Crist made a miscalculation.

I don’t dislike Charlie Crist, but I also think he’ll do whatever possible to remain in political office. He doesn’t really seem to care what party or what office it is. I actually think Crist feared that his House seat would be too gerrymandered to win in 2022, hence why he ran for Governor this year instead. He probably figured he had a slightly better chance of winning the Governorship than being re-elected to the House.

[Sir Mohamed]

Yes.

But he'd be in the wilderness after 2014.

He could have left the GOP after winning reelection and run for his old job in 2018 as Dem again. FL term limits - unlike CA - only apply to consecutive terms.