Former Republican Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, leaves GOP and becomes a Democrat

[Rey C.]

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who was elected the state's chief executive as a Republican and then ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as an independent, announced on Twitter on Friday night that he's switching to the Democratic Party.

The announcement fanned speculation that Crist would seek to regain his old job from Republican Gov. Rick Scott in 2014.

Crist sent out a tweet that said, "Proud and honored to join the Democratic Party in the home of President (at)Barack Obama!"

The tweet included a photo of a smiling Crist and his wife Carole as he held up a Florida voter registration application. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Crist signed the papers changing his affiliation from independent to Democrat at a Christmas reception at the White House. President Barack Obama greeted the news with a fist bump.

"I've had friends for years tell me, 'You know Charlie, you're a Democrat and you don't know it,'" Crist told the newspaper Friday night.

He cited the Republican Party's shift to the right on a range of issues, including immigration, education and the environment.

Personally, I'd like to see more people leave both parties and become Independents. IMO, we'd be better off if neither party could count on large blocs of support. But more sane and sensible people with conservative (yet reasonable) views leaving the GOP to the low brow teabaggers, radical right racists, wingnuts, conspiracy theorists, neocons and Evangelicals is a good first step toward healing the nation's political system.