Florida Rep. Charlie Crist endorses Biden

Florida Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) threw his support behind former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 bid on Thursday, saying Biden would be the best candidate to attract “independent and disaffected Republicans.” 

“Joe Biden’s record of getting things done speaks for itself,” Crist said in a statement, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “He has always put the American people above party lines and will continue to as President.”

Florida Rep. Al Lawson (D) has also endorsed the former vice president. 

{mosads}Crist, who previously served as the governor of Florida, left the Republican Party and became a Democrat in 2012, suggesting that he was too moderate for what the GOP had become. 

The one-term governor won his House race in 2016 after a string of unsuccessful bids for public office, including a challenge to then-Gov. and now-Sen. Rick Scott (R) in 2014. 

Recent polling shows Biden neck and neck with President Trump in the Sunshine State. A Florida Atlantic University poll released on Wednesday showed the president with a slim lead, within the poll’s margin error, against Biden well as against Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). 

Crist argued in the op-ed that Biden stood the best chance of beating Trump due what he said was the former vice president’s appeal to independents and Republicans frustrated with the current state of their party. 

Biden’s campaign has touted his electability, citing his connection with working-class voters, as well as his more moderate stances on issues like health care.