After Crist passed the bar exam he was appointed as general counsel to Minor League Baseball. He made an unsuccessful run for State Senator in 1986. He was then elected to the Florida State Senate in 1992. He was known as 'Chain Gang Charlie' because he wanted to reinstate chain gangs in Florida and he was in favor of the 85% rule (inmates must serve at least 85% of their sentences). He ran for U.S Senator in 1998 but lost by 26%. He was appointed Education Commissioner in 2000 a position he held until 2002 when he was elected Attorney General. In 2006, he easily won the Gubernatorial election after campaigning with Senator John McCain, who undoubtedly expected Crist to back him in the 2008 Presidential Election.
When he announced in 2009 that he would not run for re-election as governor and would in fact run for the U.S. Senate, he was the Republican favorite. Due to his support of Obama's fiscal policies he ended up trailing Marco Rubio by 20 points in polling. This being the case, he decided to run as an independent.
Policy Stances:
-Supports Capital Punishment
-Supports Gun Rights
-Has flip-flopped on abortion, but has most recently been considered pro-choice due to his veto of a bill that would remove taxpayer funding for abortions.
-Against gay marriage and gay parent adoptions
-Strayed from Republicans on environmental policy (Will sign executive order to restrict air pollution and is against off-shore drilling).
-Supports President Obama's fiscal policies
Charlie Crist's Website
Charlie Crist FactCheck
