Former Florida governor and Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden’s candidacy for president.
Crist, who was a Republican while serving as governor from 2007 to 2011, said that Biden has the ability to appeal to “independent and disaffected Republicans” needed to win Florida in a race against President Trump, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“Joe Biden’s record of getting things done speaks for itself,” Crist said in a Thursday statement. “He has always put the American people above party lines and will continue to as President.”
“We need a president whose objective at the end of the day is to move the country forward for everyone through action,” he said, “not empty promises.”
Crist, 63, was joined by two other Democratic congressmen in his Thursday endorsement, Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri and G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina.
After becoming disaffected by the Republican Party, Crist became an independent and unsuccessfully ran against Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek for Senate in 2010.
He later switched to the Democratic Party, and in 2014 ran for governor, narrowly losing to Rick Scott, who is now one of Florida’s senators. Biden endorsed Crist’s campaign during that election.
Crist reentered public office in 2016 when he was elected to a congressional seat in west Florida.
