Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( KRIST; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2012; he was previously a Republican before becoming an independent in 2010.
Born in Pennsylvania and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Crist graduated from Florida State University and Samford University, where he received his Juris Doctor degree. He served in the Florida Senate from 1993 to 1999, vacating his seat to run unsuccessfully against incumbent Bob Graham for the U.S. Senate in 1998. He won a 2000 special election to serve as Florida education commissioner from 2001 to 2003 and a 2002 election to serve as Florida attorney general from 2003 to 2007. He was elected Governor of Florida in 2006 after winning against Democrat Jim Davis.
While he was governor, Crist again ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010. He initially led in polls in the race for the Republican nomination, but was later overtaken by Marco Rubio. In April of that year, he left the Republican Party to run in the general election as an independent, losing to Rubio in a three-way race. He took 30% of the vote to Rubio's 49% and Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek had 20%. Crist's term as governor ended in January 2011.
On December 7, 2012, Crist joined the Democratic Party, having endorsed President Barack Obama for reelection in 2012. On November 1, 2013, he announced that he was running for governor in the 2014 election. Crist lost to Republican governor Rick Scott, his successor, by a 1% margin. In 2016, Crist was elected to Congress from his home district, the St. Petersburg-based 13th, defeating incumbent Republican David Jolly, 52%–48% and becoming the first Democrat to represent this district since 1955. In the 117th Congress, Crist was the only former governor serving in the House.
Crist was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election, resigning from the House in August 2022 to focus on his campaign. He was defeated by incumbent Republican governor Ron DeSantis in a landslide.
On June 7, 2023, the Biden administration announced Crist's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency; his nomination lapsed without action by the U.S. Senate, and expired at the end of the 118th Congress on January 3, 2025.
Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on July 24, 1956, to Charles Joseph Crist, an American physician of Greek Cypriot and Lebanese descent, and Nancy (née Lee), of Scots-Irish, Swiss, and Welsh descent. His father was a physician who served as board chairman for Pinellas County Schools from 1966 to 1977. His family name is adapted from the original Greek name "Christodoulos". He is the second of four children and has three sisters: Margaret Crist Wood, Elizabeth Crist Hyden, and Catherine Crist Kennedy.
As a child, Crist moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he attended Riviera Junior High School and St. Petersburg High School, from which he graduated in 1974. He was the starting quarterback for St. Petersburg's high school football team in 1972 and 1973 before suffering a leg injury in his senior year.
At Wake Forest University, he was a walk-on quarterback with the Demon Deacons during his freshman and sophomore years. The 6-foot (1.8 m), 180-pound (82 kg) quarterback did not play and was mainly tasked with running the scout team in practices. Crist later transferred to Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he was elected vice president of the student body and joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was also FSU's homecoming chief in 1977.
Crist received his undergraduate degree from FSU, followed by his J.D. from Samford University Cumberland School of Law.
After graduating from Cumberland School of Law in 1981, and passing the bar on his third attempt, Crist was hired as general counsel to Minor League Baseball, which was headquartered in St. Petersburg. Drawn to politics, Crist was a candidate for public office for the first time in 1986, in the Republican primary for a state Senate seat in Pinellas County. After losing in a runoff, Crist joined his brother-in-law in private practice in St. Petersburg, but soon returned to politics as an aide on the successful 1988 United States Senate campaign of Connie Mack III, whom he has since described as his political mentor.
In 1992, Crist was elected to a two-year term to the Florida Senate from the 20th District, which encompassed parts of St. Petersburg and South Tampa. After winning the Republican primary over State Representative Jeff Huenink, he defeated longtime incumbent Democratic state senator Helen Gordon Davis of Tampa in the general election, 58.3 to 41.7%. Crist was able to unseat Gordon Davis following the 1992 decennial redistricting process, which significantly reconfigured the districts in the Tampa Bay area. His victory was credited with helping to end the Democratic Party's 128-year control of the Florida Senate, as the Republicans netted three seats in 1992, resulting in a 20–20 tie between the parties.
Crist was known as a law-and-order senator, sponsoring legislation requiring inmates to serve at least 85% of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole. For reintroducing physical labor for inmates, he gained the nickname "chain gang Charlie". He supported teacher salary increases, charter schools, and a specialty license plate for Everglades conservation. With Crist as chairman, the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee investigated actions of then-governor Lawton Chiles amid allegations that Chiles's campaign had made "scare calls" to senior citizens days before the 1994 gubernatorial election. Chiles testified before the committee and admitted that his campaign had made the calls.
In 1994, Crist was reelected to a four-year term in the Senate, defeating Democrat Dana Lynn Maley with 63.3% of the vote.
U.S. Senate campaign and Florida education commissioner
Crist gained recognition in 1998 as the Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic U.S. senator Bob Graham. Crist campaigned conservatively on taxation, crime, and the ongoing Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, but agreed with Graham on issues such as healthcare and statehood for Puerto Rico. Crist also campaigned on being younger, more energetic, and more able to address Floridians' needs. He lost to Graham by 26 percentage points, but gained significant name recognition, and was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to serve as the deputy secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in 1999 upon the conclusion of his Senate service. He served until 2000, when he ran for Florida education commissioner in a November special election created by the resignation of incumbent commissioner Tom Gallagher. He won by over 500,000 votes and assumed the office in January 2001. Crist would ultimately be the last statewide elected education commissioner, as a 1998 amendment to the Constitution of Florida turned the position into one appointed by the governor of Florida after his departure. Crist left the office after he was elected attorney general in 2002.
In 2002, Crist was elected Florida attorney general. His candidacy was supported by the host of America's Most Wanted, John Walsh. Walsh and other supporters cited his work with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Civil rights and consumer groups praised Crist for expanding the attorney general's powers during his time in office. These powers enabled him and future attorneys general to have greater power to prosecute civil rights and fraud cases. Crist also worked to combat email spam, freeze utility rates, end telecom deception, and protect the environment.