Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the Republican Party to run for a Senate seat in 2010 as an independent — and, failing that, moved to the Democratic Party two years later — has a new book aimed at showing how he didn’t jump political ship. It was rather that the Republican Party abandoned him.
His memoir, “The Party’s Over: How the Extreme Right Hijacked the GOP and I Became a Democrat,” comes as a sort of ground-laying for his mulled 2014 political resurfacing. He is reputed to be considering a run for governor against Republican Gov. Rick Scott, and in a March Quinnipiac University poll, he surged among survey respondents for the seat, 50 percent to 34 percent, Politico reported.
“I have now seen both these parties at the highest levels from the inside,” Mr. Crist said, as Politico reported. “In the book, I’ll share my very strong feelings about what’s happened to the Republicans, how the party I grew up in has been hijacked by extremists, losing its compassion and common sense.”
Mr. Crist campaigned for President Obama’s re-election. He also says he has found “wonderful new home” with Democrats, Politico reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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