Palm Beach Post Editorial Board endorsement: Pick Crist as Democratic nominee for governor
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On Aug. 23, Florida Democratic voters will select a candidate for Governor to buck a Republican incumbent who has generated vast amounts of money and national publicity.
Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried are the best-known contenders among the four Democrats in the primary. The Palm Beach Post believes Crist is the best choice and recommends voters choose him as their party's nominee.
Florida is a closed primary state, which means next month's Democratic primary is only open to voters registered to that party.
Crist, 66, is the best prepared to run against the Republican incumbent, Gov. Ron DeSantis. A former Republican Governor, one-time Independent U.S. Senate candidate and now a Democratic Congressman, Crist is a familiar name on Florida ballots. He has served the public as a Florida state senator, education commissioner and attorney general, to boot.
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In this race, Crist hopes to regain his old job as Governor, building upon a well-established record as a moderate willing to cross party lines to get things done. He may be the "old shoe" of state politics but he brings a proven skill set to use the powers of state government to deal with Florida's challenges.
Take property insurance. Almost 400,000 Florida homeowners have lost coverage, as roughly 16 insurers in recent months either left the state, declared insolvency or simply stopped writing policies. During his tenure as governor, Crist moved aggressively to get rates down and spur Citizens Property Insurance to take on more homeowners. As a candidate, he wants guarantees that no homeowners would be left without insurance and thus threatened with foreclosure.
Regarding Florida's ongoing housing crisis, Crist would fully fund the state's Sadowski Trust Fund and expand down-payment assistance. He'd also appoint a housing czar and crack down on the number of firms buying houses with cash offerings and converting the houses into more expensive rental properties.
As governor, Crist took the then-unprecedented step to restore voting rights to former felons. He promises to follow the dictates of Amendment 4, which allows felons who completed their sentences to register to vote. He'd also reverse recent restrictions on mail ballots and make Election Day a state holiday to allow more people to vote.
Much like his political affiliation, Crist's views on abortion and a woman's right to choose have shifted, at times flustering advocates on both sides of the issue. Simply put: Crist may have adhered to the party line in objecting to state-funded abortions. As a state senator, he voted for a ban on abortions later in pregnancies.
Still, he remained reluctant to support legislation that put politicians in the place of physicians in determining women's reproductive rights. As governor, he has said he opposed overturning Roe v. Wade and before leaving the governor's mansion, he vetoed legislation that would have required women to obtain an ultrasound before undergoing an abortion, legislation Florida's pro-life movement had hoped would become law. As a Democrat in Congress, Crist has been a solid pro-choice vote.
Nikki Fried is Charlie Crist's biggest primary challenger
Nikki Fried, Florida's current agriculture commissioner, is the Democratic candidate who is Crist's biggest primary challenger. The 44-year-old Miami native surprised political observers in the state in 2018 when she successfully won that statewide commissioner race to become the only elected Democrat in the past four years to serve in the Florida Cabinet.
Fried has brought energy to the contest, contending she is the only Democrat who can unseat DeSantis, and criticizing Crist as a "pro-life" Republican who lacks the party's bona fides. Unfortunately for her, the same verve that helped her become agriculture commissioner isn't paying off this time. Given her lack of endorsements and difficulties in raising money, it's clear Fried hasn't captured the imagination of Democratic voters.
Rounding out the field of the Democratic candidates whose names will appear on the August ballot are Cadance Daniel, 35 of Jacksonville and Robert L. Willis, 68 of Cocoa.
In what will be an uphill race, the Post recommends voters pick Crist as their choice for Democratic nominee to face Gov. DeSantis in the November general election.
Other Palm Beach Post Editorial Board endorsements
COUNTY JUDGE: Palm Beach Post Editorial Board endorsement: Elect Paul Damico county judge again
US HOUSE DISTRICT 20: Palm Beach Post Editorial Board endorsement: Cherfilus-McCormick
For all Palm Beach Post Editorial Board endorsements, please check our Opinion page.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Elections 2022: Post endorses Crist as Democratic nominee for governor
