By KEVIN DERBY Sunshine State News
Charlie Crist
Now in his second term in Congress, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., has moved up into the leadership ranks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) as the Democrats look to protect their new majority in the U.S. House.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., the chairwoman of the DCCC, announced that five regional vice chairs, including Crist, had been elected by her caucus.
“Elected by their colleagues, these vice chairs will help lead the on-the-ground effort to fortify and expand our new Democratic majority,” the DCCC noted.
Besides Crist, other new DCCC vice chairs include U.S. Rep. Madeline Dean, D-Penn., U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., U.S. Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., and U.S. Rep. Marc Veasy, D-Tex.
“If we want to make meaningful progress on the kitchen table challenges facing families across America, we need to fortify and expand our Democratic majority,” said Bustos. “That’s why I’m so proud to announce the DCCC’s regional vice chairs who will help lead our on the ground efforts to win in 2020. I want to thank Reps. Dean, Crist, Moore, Veasey and Peters for stepping up and taking a leading role to get it done. By working together to draw a clear contrast between our work to lower health care costs and the Washington Republicans failed agenda of stripping protections for people with pre-existing conditions, we’ll ensure a better future for all of our families.”
Crist said he intended to help the DCCC’s Frontline program which aids vulnerable incumbents in swing districts.
“Democrats are laser-focused on getting real results for hardworking families across America,” said Crist. “I’m proud to serve as a regional vice chair at the DCCC because I’m committed to working with our Frontline members and re-electing our Democratic majority in 2020 so we can continue getting the job done for all Americans.”
Crist has been on the Florida political stage for more than two decades, holding three state Cabinet offices as a Republican, In 2010, Crist, then serving as governor and still a Republican, was caught by Marco Rubio in the Republican primary in the U.S. Senate race. After losing ground to Rubio, Crist ditched the GOP to run for the Senate with no party affiliation but lost to Rubio. Crist joined the Democrats after the 2012 elections and was his new party’s candidate to take on Gov. Rick Scott in 2014 but he came up short. Bouncing back in 2016, Crist defeated then U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla. by a slender margin but he easily won a second term last year.