Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist was born on July 24, 1956. After transferring from Wake Forest University to Florida State University, he graduated in 1978. He then earned a law degree from the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, AL. Christ then went to work as a general counsel for the minor league division of the Baseball Commissioner’s Office for several years.
After serving as state director for former U.S. Senator Connie Mack, Crist returned to the law as partner in a family firm. In 1992, Crist was elected to the Florida State Senate, where he served for 6 years. During that time, he gained a reputation for being tough on crime and was involved in the investigation of ethics charges against the campaign of then-Governor Lawton Chiles.
In 1998, he ran and lost in a U.S. Senate race against incumbent Bob Graham, but gained statewide recognition with his attempt. This allowed him to be elected in 2000 to the position of Education Commissioner of Florida. He then ran and won 2002 s race for Attorney General of Florida. He was noted for his efforts on protecting the environment and prosecuting civil rights violations. Crist also differed with then Governor Jeb Bush by ending official state pursuit of the legal case for Terry Schiavo s parents.
As Jeb Bush s second term as Florida s governor was coming to an end in 2006, Crist decided to run for the role and won in a three-way race. His record has been decidedly conservative on issues such as capital punishment, gay marriage, adoption by gays and gun rights. He has broken from the Republican Party during his governorship on offshore drilling, environmental issues, and fiscal management. He has also created better relations with minorities, especially the African-American community.
He has announced that he will not be running for re-election as governor, but instead will be making a 2010 run for U.S. Senate. He is facing a difficult Republican nomination fight from Marco Rubio, a young conservative standout who was Florida s former Speaker of the House and who has generated a lot of support among the Hispanic community.
There has been a great deal of speculation on whether his ambitions also include the White House, as he was mentioned quite a few times as a possible McCain VP choice in 2008. He married in December of 2008 among rumors of trying to make himself a more attractive candidate for national office and to squelch unsubstantiated rumors about his homosexuality. His stance against gay marriage and adoption has made him a target for the derision of the gay community in light of these rumors.
