Charlie Crist wins Democratic primary for governor in Florida, will challenge DeSantis
Charlie Crist to challenge Ron DeSantis in November
Rep. Charlie Crist cruised to a primary victory over state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in Florida on Tuesday night, NBC News projects, answering the one big question Democrats have fretted about for months: Who will be the underdog to face popular Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis?
Crist had 59.2% of the vote to Fried's 35.4% at 8:12 p.m. ET, with 90% of the vote in, according to NBC News.
Heading into Election Day, few Democratic insiders and political observers gave Crist or Fried much of a chance in November, citing every recent public poll showing DeSantis leading Crist.
As DeSantis’ historic $140 million re-election war chest grows by the day, national Democrats have signaled they won’t invest in Florida as heavily as in the past. The state’s growing Hispanic electorate has been shifting rightward since 2018. And, for the first time ever, there are now more registered Florida Republicans than Democrats — a key indicator of voter intensity.
“‘Fatalistic’ is probably the best word to describe Democrats’ mood,” said Sean Phillippi, a Florida Democratic data scientist who voted for Crist.
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