HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - With the midterm elections just weeks away, Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist made two stops in South Florida to rally voters as he continues his campaign against incumbent Ron DeSantis.
The Democratic candidate’s first made a stop in Pinecrest to attend a luncheon with his running mate, Karla Hernandez-Mats, Monday morning.
Later in the day, Crist hosted a rally in Hollywood at the Greater Mount Pleasant AME Church.
“Up and down the ballot, right? In 2022, we gotta turn Florida blue,” said Crist.
The 66-year-old, who was a Republican when he was first elected governor of Florida in 2006, is in his second run to lead the state.
He said freedom is on the ballot.
“Unfortunately, right now, we’re not the freest state in America. We’re the most unfree state in America,” said Crist. “[Ron DeSantis] doesn’t respect African American voters by eliminating drop boxes in minority communities around the state of Florida. He doesn’t respect LGBT children, and it goes on and on, treating them like cattle. Who does that? It’s just unconscionable.”
Crist started his day at Evelyn Greer Park, where he met with local residents and community leaders with Hernandez-Mats.
“What do we got? Twenty-two days to go for the ’22 election. Very excited about that,” said Crist. “It was great to be with the first lady in Orlando this weekend. [It was] very kind of her to come down. President [Joe Biden] is going to be with us on November 1. [That is] exactly one week before Election Day, so I’m excited about that. On to victory and protecting a woman’s right to choose.”
Biden will visit to attend a private fundraiser for Crist in Fort Lauderdale.
Supporters like Sibyl Adams said they stand with Crist because of his view on reproductive rights.
“I’m a mother of a daughter and mother of granddaughters. [Women’s rights] are very important,” said Adams.
Crist’s South Florida stops come a day after DeSantis held a rally in Coral Springs in hopes of rallying his base less than a month before the midterms.
“We were the first big state to say, ‘These kids need to be in school in person five days a week. We’re gonna make it happen,'” said DeSantis.
Hernandez-Mats, on the other hand, said Florida schools need a different focus.
“We need to support educators for public education,” she said. “We need to stop this ridiculous idea that banning books and censoring teachers is gonna be good. We’re 48th in the country in how we pay educators.”
Crist said he’s looking forward to next week’s debate, where voters can see the real differences between the candidates.
While the governor of Florida and Crist disagree most times, the one issue they agreed on was the Parkland school shooter’s sentencing.
Crist also believed there should be a change to jury laws.
“I think we don’t need to have unanimous decisions by juries in every case, and it seems to me, if you have a strong majority of the jury that feels a certain way, that binds with the decision-making process of the judge in the case, then I think it is appropriate to have the death penalty,” said Crist. “If not in this case, when?”
DeSantis and Crist continue working to turn out their voters in South Florida.
“People are voting right now — mail-in voting, soon to be early voting, and of course, November 8, the last day to vote, 22 days away,” said Crist.
Early voting begins for both Miami-Dade and Broward counties on Oct. 24.
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