On Wednesday, August 31st, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) announced his resignation from his seat in Florida’s 13th Congressional District, effective immediately. The “Staff for the Office of the 13th Congressional District of Florida” will continue to supply services for constituents up until January when the new candidate is sworn-in next year. This move will allow Crist to focus on the gubernatorial race against incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
Crist has represented District 13 since winning election over incumbent Rep. David Jolly (R-FL) in 2016. His seat will be vacant until January.
“Serving as the Representative of Florida’s 13th Congressional District has been an honor and a privilege,” said Rep. Crist. “When I first took office nearly six years ago, I vowed to defend our Veterans, bring jobs to Florida, fight climate change, and put people over politics. As I close out my time in Congress, I could not be prouder of the work we’ve done to uphold those promises – passing legislation to support our veterans, expanding solar energy in the Sunshine State, securing millions in direct funding for community projects, and returning over $6 million in earned benefits to the people of Pinellas.”
Republican candidate for the Pinellas County area, Anna Paulina Luna (R) is set to face Eric Lynn (D), the Democratic candidate in which Crist has given the nod to.
Crist ended his announcement with gratitude, but it did not mention anything to do with his gubernatorial candidacy.
“But these achievements start and end with you, the people – my bosses – who have guided my work in Congress since Day One. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting me as your Representative in Washington. And God Bless the great people of Florida’s 13th Congressional District.”
Crist served as the Governor of Florida as a Republican from 2007-2011, ran unsuccessfully as an independent for Senate against now incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and lost to former Governor of Florida and now Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) in 2014. This is his third run for the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee.
