Former Gov. Charlie Crist, a one-time Republican who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as an independent and as a Democrat for governor, appears poised to enter a Congressional race this week.
Crist “will make a major announcement” in St. Petersburg on Tuesday morning, according to a statement issued Friday by Democratic strategist Kevin Cate, who served as a spokesman for Crist’s 2014 gubernatorial run.
In July, Crist said he would run for Congress if, as expected, his hometown of St. Petersburg is included in a newly redrawn district that would be friendly to Democrats.
“If the new congressional map includes my home, I intend on running to serve the people again,’’ Crist said in July. Crist issued the statement after Pinellas County Congressman David Jolly, a Republican, said he was joining the 2016 U.S. Senate race.
The Florida Supreme Court is weighing whether to approve a congressional map recommended by Leon County Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis.
The court ordered the Legislature to redraw eight congressional districts, which it found violated Florida’s “Fair Districts” constitutional amendments aimed at preventing gerrymandering.
As part of that ruling, the court pointedly ordered changes in Jolly’s District 13 and neighboring Congressional District 14.
Crist was elected in 2006 governor after serving as a state senator, education commissioner and attorney general but opted to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 as an independent instead of seeking a second term in the governor’s mansion.