US midterms: Florida Democrats pick Crist to challenge DeSantis - BBC News
Charlie Crist will challenge Florida's Republican governor in the midterm elections in November.
One thing Congressman Charlie Crist doesn’t lack is name recognition. He’s been active in Florida politics since the mid-1990s and is making his seventh run for statewide political office. His circuitous journey is another story, however – as a chat with voters outside a polling place in Miami Gardens showed.

Crist was elected governor – as a Republican - in 2006. He then tried, unsuccessfully, to be the party’s nominee for Senate in 2010. After Marco Rubio defeated him in the primary, he ran as an independent – and lost to Rubio again.

Crist then switched to the Democratic Party and ran for governor in 2014 – and lost – before winning his current House seat in 2016.

Now he’s locked in a tight contest with Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried to take another crack at the governor’s office.

In Miami Gardens, Crist’s electoral history proved to be a blessing – and a curse. Zelma Chisholm said she voted for Crist because he had proven over the years to treat everyone fairly. She added that she liked the fact he had shown he could win Republican votes in the past.

For Tamilla Mullings, however, Crist’s Republican history was too much.

“Being a Republican, now you’re flip-flopping over to Democrats ... make your choice,” she said.

Another voter said his record as a Republican legislator, including pushing for the re-implementation of a 1946 policy requiring prisoners to work in chains – which earned him the nickname “Chain Gang Charlie” from his Democratic critics - was unforgivable.

Public opinion polls show Crist with a modest lead over Fried heading into election day, however, so he may end up with another chance in November to add to his unconventional political story.

Tamilla Mullings sees Crist's multiple changes of party as flip-flopping Image caption: Tamilla Mullings sees Crist's multiple changes of party as flip-flopping