In April 2010 and while still in office as Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist left the Republican Party to run for U.S. Senate as an Independent. He was defeated in the general election by Republican nominee Marco Rubio. In December 2012, Crist joined the Democratic Party.
Candidates
Declared
Charlie Crist, former Republican turned Independent Governor and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
The following candidates appeared on the ballot for the general election:
Rick Scott, incumbent governor
Charlie Crist, former Republican-turned-independent governor and independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
Adrian Wyllie, activist, radio host and former chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida
Glenn Burkett, businessman and perennial candidate
Farid Khavari, economist, author and independent candidate for governor in 2010
Endorsements
Campaign
As of early June 2014, Scott had spent almost $13m since March on television advertisements attacking Charlie Crist, who then appeared the likely Democratic nominee. Although the ads resulted in a tightening of the race, this came about by decreasing Crist's favorability ratings. By contrast, Scott's favorability ratings did not increase. By late September, Scott's television ad spending had exceeded $35m and in mid-October it reached $56.5 million, compared to $26.5 million by Crist. On October 22 it was reported that Scott's total spending had exceeded $83 million and he announced that, having previously said he would not do so, he would be investing his own money into the campaign, speculated to be as much as $22 million. Crist hoped to draw strong support from Florida's more than 1.6 million registered black voters, an effort that was challenging with regards to his previous political career as a Republican. A poll conducted in September 2014 by Quinnipiac University revealed his support among black voters was at 72 percent against Scott, which was below the 90 percent analysts believed he needed to win. Scott and Crist met in a debate on October 15, held by the Florida Press Association at Broward College. The debate required candidates to receive at least 15% support in major polls to be included. This was allegedly increased from 10% after Wyllie met the initial criteria, but the Miami Herald reported that the threshold had been 15% since 2013. The decision has been criticised as "suppressing choice" and the Wyllie campaign has filed a lawsuit to be included in the debate. U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn dismissed the lawsuit. At this debate, Scott refused to take the stage for seven minutes because Crist had a small electric fan under his lectern. The incident was dubbed "fangate" by media sources such as Politico.
Scott defeated Crist, 48.1%-47.1%. With the loss, Crist became the first person in Florida history to lose statewide elections as a Democrat, as a Republican, and as an Independent.
