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Charlie Crist
Gov charlie crist.jpg
Charlie Crist in January 2007.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 13th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded by David Jolly
44th Governor of Florida
In office
January 2, 2007 – January 4, 2011
Lieutenant Jeff Kottkamp
(2007-2011)
Preceded by Jeb Bush
Succeeded by Rick Scott
35th Attorney General of Florida
In office
January 7, 2003 – January 2, 2007
Governor Jeb Bush
Preceded by Richard Doran
Succeeded by Bill McCollum
21st Education Commissioner of Florida
In office
January 3, 2001 – January 7, 2003
Governor Jeb Bush
Preceded by Tom Gallagher
Succeeded by Jim Horne
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 20th district
In office
November 3, 1992 – November 3, 1998
Preceded by Constituency redistricted
Succeeded by Jim Sebesta
Personal details
Born
Charles Joseph Crist, Jr.

(1956-07-24) July 24, 1956 (age 67)
Altoona, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party Democratic (2012–present)
Other political
affiliations
Republican (1974–2010)
Independent (2010–2012)
Spouse(s) Amanda Morrow (1979–1980)
Carole Rome (2008-2017)
Residence(s) St. Petersburg, Florida
Education Wake Forest University
Florida State University (BA)
Samford University (JD)
Signature

Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist Jr. ( born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician. He is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 13th congressional district. He had also served as the 44th Governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011.

Early life

Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He studied at Wake Forest University, at Florida State University, and at Samford University.

Political career

Crist began his political career as a Republican, serving in the Florida Senate from 1993 to 1999, running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1998 when he challenged then-current Senator Bob Graham. He later as Florida Education Commissioner from 2001 to 2003 and Florida Attorney General from 2003 to 2007, before being elected Governor in 2006.

Crist decided not to run for re-election as Governor in 2010, instead announcing on May 12, 2009 that he was running for the U.S. Senate seat being left by Republican Senator Mel Martinez. After leading in the race at first for the Republican nomination, he was overtaken in the polls by Marco Rubio, and in April 2010, Crist left the Republican Party and ran as an Independent. In the general election, he lost to Rubio in a three-way race, taking 30% of the vote to Rubio's 49% and Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek's 20%. Crist's term as Governor ended in January 2011.

On December 7, 2012, he joined the Democratic Party, having endorsed President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012. On November 1, 2013, he announced that he was running for governor in the 2014 election. However, he lost to the incumbent Governor Rick Scott, losing by a 1% margin.

In 2016, Crist was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 13th congressional district, defeating incumbent David Jolly by a margin of 52%-48%.

Crist is one of the few politicians that lost an election as a Republican, Democrat and Independent candidate.

Personal life

Crist married Amanda Morrow in 1979, but divorced a year later in 1980. He later married Carole Rome in 2008. They divorced in 2017.

Crist now lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Charlie Crist para niños

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