Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist has now formally qualified to run for Florida Governor again in hopes of unseating current Governor Rick Scott. Qualifying for Florida's 2014 elections officially began Monday at noon.
At around 1:30 p.m. Monday, a Leon County teacher submitted Crist’s qualifying paperwork at the Florida Division of Elections. Crist says it’s because she believes there needs to be a change in leadership.
“He [Scott] is funding education less per pupil now with a surplus of over $2 billion than I funded it when we were in the great recession—about $200 less per pupil than I did during the recession. It’s unbelievable," said Crist, following a campaign event Monday. “You’ve got to care about education, and you’ve got to care about teachers, and you’ve got to do what’s right. And, he’s not doing what’s right. And, that’s why I’m running. That’s why this nice teacher is filing papers for me to run for Governor today because we need to fix Florida."
Governor Scott also officially qualified for re-election Monday. Nan Rich, a former Democratic state Senator who’s also hoping to challenge incumbent Governor Scott, plans to qualify Tuesday morning. The qualifying deadline is Friday at noon.
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