Former Republican Florida Gov. endorses Obama

Charlie Crist

Former Florida Republican Gov. Charlie Crist supported President Obama in a Tampa Bay Times op-ed article last Sunday. Crist commended the president’s work on the financial crisis and Medicare, and dismissed the far right of the Republican Party, which he wrote favors “extreme rhetoric over sensible compromise.”

Crist lost a bid for Senate in 2010, running as an unaffiliated candidate after losing the Republican nomination to now-Sen. Marco Rubio. During that race, a photo of Crist hugging President Obama was used to challenge the former governor’s conservative credentials. Crist is now registered as an independent.