Tonight, Charlie Crist won a resounding victory in the Florida Democratic primary on a promise to fight for freedom for all Floridians, stand up to the special interests who are driving up costs, protect reproductive freedom, and defeat Governor Ron DeSantis.
Remarks as prepared for delivery:
Tonight, the people of Florida delivered a clear message. They want a governor who cares about them, who solves real problems, who preserves our freedoms – not a bully who divides us and takes our freedoms away!
I’m proud to have earned your support for the Democratic nomination, and together we are going to defeat Ron DeSantis in November!
Give it up for this great ticket. Tonight, Floridians nominated Val Demings to be the first African American woman to represent us in the U.S. Senate and together we are going to make your voices heard once again in Washington and in Tallahassee.
I want to thank Nikki Fried for fighting the good fight the last four years in Tallahassee. We share the same goal: To save our state and defeat DeSantis.
Listen, the stakes for this election could not be higher. Our fundamental freedoms are on the ballot. A woman’s right to choose is on the ballot! Democracy is on the ballot! Your rights, as minorities, are on the ballot! That’s what at stake in this race. Make no mistake about it. Because this guy wants to be president of the United States of America. When we defeat him on November 8th, that show is over.
I’m sad to say that I no longer recognize the leaders of the Republican Party. They are extremists. They want to turn back the clock on our freedoms, and they’re trying to undermine our democracy in ways no one could have imagined.
That stops here, that stops now, and that stops with Florida! This is the most consequential race in our state’s history. And when we win in November, we will send shockwaves across the country.
I proudly served as your governor once before. And unlike the current governor, I represented every Floridian – regardless of what political party they belonged to, or how much money was in their wallet, or who they loved.
Together, we made it easier to vote. We stopped huge electric rate increases. We lowered property insurance premiums. We fought the special interests. And together, we’ll do it again.
We can unite Democrats and Independents – and the many Republicans who do care about Florida – and we will defeat Ron DeSantis!
When I am honored to be your governor again, we will work together to build a Florida for All. Together, we will restore our precious freedoms that Ron DeSantis is taking away.
On Day 1 of my administration, I will sign an executive order protecting the right to choose as it stood under Roe v. Wade in Florida! We will stand up to the special interests and finally lower your electric bill and lower your insurance bill. We did it before, and we’ll do it again. We will protect your right to vote – and we will make it easier to vote, not harder. We will protect the rights of small business owners to do what’s best for their employees and their customers.
And when I’m governor, I will restore Andrew Warren to his duly elected position as Hillsborough County State Attorney! The truth is, this governor could care less about our freedoms. It’s an abuse of power. It’s dangerous. He imitates the worst of authoritarian leaders. It’s all a political game he’s playing, to appeal to extremists across the nation as he seeks the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
He won’t condemn hate or extremism — like the Nazis running around our state waving his flags and spreading anti-Semitic hate. And he stays silent when his own lieutenant governor calls for Cuban migrants to be bused out of state.
It’s simple: Governor DeSantis only cares about the White House, not your house. So don’t be fooled by the DeSantis propaganda machine. He doesn’t promote freedom. He takes away freedoms! But we can put a stop to this wanna-be dictator. If we work together and stand up to this bully, we will defeat him in November!
We welcome Democrats, Independents, and Republicans to join us in this fight. Everyone who wants to protect our freedoms, who believes in democracy, who is tired of getting screwed by powerful special interests. Together, we will restore decency and civility to government. I try to live by the Golden Rule, treating everyone the way we would like to be treated.
I pledge this to every Floridian. I will listen to you, I will respect you, and my door will always be open.
Since May of 2021 — we’ve been at this for a while! — we’ve been building a campaign for all Floridians. We need your help to pull it off. Together, we will make history. We’ll shock the world.
Florida, are you ready to make history? Raise your voices! Let’s work like hell! Let’s fight for our freedoms! Let’s bring this state back together! And let’s go win for Florida and America! God bless you!
Original source can be found here.
