Charlie Crist is the 44th governor of Florida who ran as an Independent candidate in the 2010 Florida race for the U.S. Senate seat. Previously a Republican, Crist split from the party, in April 2010, and announced plans to run for the Senate as an Independent.http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/charlie-crist-to-run-for-senat.html Crist lost the bid for the Senate seat in the November elections to Marco Rubio by a 19 point margin.http://www.foxnews.com/interactive/politics/candidate-list/#state=FLCharlie Crist's term as Florida Governor ends on January 4, 2011 at which time he will be replaced by Rick Scott.http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/gubernatorial/what-next-for-charlie-crist/1132100

Born on July 24, 1956, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Crist was raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. Crist attended high school at St. Petersburg High, where he served as class president. He also served as student body vice president at Florida State University. He played college football at Wake Forest University before transferring to Florida State to complete his bachelor’s degree in 1978. He later studied law and earned his law degree from Cumberland School of Law in Alabama.http://www.flgov.com/gov_biography

Charlie Crist’s political career began in 1992, when he ran for and won a seat in the Florida State Senate. He served in this position for six years and chaired both the Senate Ethics and Election Committee and the Appropriations Criminal Justice Subcommittee. He was then appointed the Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation by then governor, Jeb Bush.

In 2000, Crist was elected Commissioner of Education in a special election. He was the last person elected to this position. In 2002, he ran for and won the position of Florida Attorney General, becoming the first elected Republican attorney general in the state’s history. Crist was elected governor of Florida in 2006.http://www.charliecrist.com/about-charlie

• Opposes partial birth abortion
• Opposes same sex marriage
• Supports parental choice in education
• Supports smaller government
• Supports tough penalties for identity theft
• Has supported replacing income tax with flat tax
• Supported 2008 Economic Stimulus
• Supports incentives for alternative energy
• Supports tougher drug lawshttp://www.ontheissues.org/Charlie_Crist.htm