Charlie Crist

Charlie Crist was inaugurated as Governor of Florida in January, 2007. He was the state's 44th governor. Initially a Republican, he became an Independent in the 2010 election. As a Republican, Crist served as a legislator, a commissioner of education, state attorney general and governor, but left the party in the spring of 2010 after it became obvious that Senator-elect Marco Rubio, a Tea Party favorite, was going to pose a strong challenge to him in the Republican primary.