Crist for Fla. governor, this time as Democrat

Former Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday announced his bid to run for his old job, this time as a Democrat.  

“Tallahassee is out of control. The voice of the people has been silenced by the financial bullies and the special interests. You really have no advocate there anymore,” he said at the launch in his hometown of St. Petersburg, according to the Tampa Bay Times. 

Crist attacked Gov. Rick Scott (R) for not adhering to his 2010 platform of governing as an outsider, the paper reports.

“He went from taking over Tallahassee to becoming the example of what’s wrong with the place,” Crist said. “The more I watched Rick Scott govern, and the more I heard from you the people, I knew it was time to take Florida in a better direction. So today, I announce that I am running for governor of Florida.”

He officially filed his papers to run with the state’s Division of Elections on Friday. 

Crist served as the Sunshine State’s governor from 2007 to 2011 mostly as a Republican. He left the GOP in 2010 after losing in a Senate primary to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

In a June Quinnipiac University poll measuring such a Crist-Scott match-up, Crist came out ahead. Half of people surveyed said Scott did not deserve another term. 

Nearly 50 percent said they view Crist favorably, and 40 percent held that view of Scott.

Crist never completely left the political spotlight since he left office. He spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. 

A few weeks ago, the widow of the late Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) banned Crist from attending her husband’s funeral. The congressman died in October. 

Crist launched his campaign website last week: CharlieCrist.com.