Charlie Crist wins Democratic primary in Florida, will challenge Ron DeSantis this fall

(Image credit: Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

published 24 August 2022

Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) won Florida's Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday, and will face Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in November.

Crist, a centrist, defeated Nikki Fried, Florida's agriculture commissioner. He was elected as Florida's 44th governor in 2006, as a Republican. Crist joined the Democratic Party in 2012.

During his victory speech, Crist called DeSantis an "extremist" and "wannabe dictator." It's believed that DeSantis, who has more than $140 million for his re-election campaign, is considering running for president in 2024, and Crist said the governor "only cares about the White House. He doesn't care about your house."

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Democrats are expected to spend the next few months leading up to the election focusing on the rising costs of housing, insurance, and electricity in Florida, while also casting DeSantis as "a divisive leader who plays up his policies as promoting freedom despite restricting the rights of women, Black and Hispanic Floridians, and the LGBTQ community," The New York Times writes.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.