Charlie Crist to visit Florida’s Hispanic communities in campaign outreach tour
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, who announced in May his third bid for Florida governor, this time as a Democrat, is launching a week-long speaking tour in Hispanic communities throughout the state starting next Monday. It’s part of the former Republican governor’s outreach efforts with Latinos in several key cities.
Crist’s “Oportunidad Para Todos / Opportunity for All” tour is expected to hit parts of Central Florida and South Florida, including Tampa, Kissimmee, Miami, Homestead and parts of Broward County, said Samantha Ramirez, press secretary for Crist’s gubernatorial campaign. The former governor plans to host roundtables with leaders in the Cuban, Mexican, Venezuelan and Puerto Rican communities.
Among Crist’s primary opponents in what is widely expected to be a heated gubernatorial race are Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only statewide elected Democrat in Florida, who entered the race on June 1.
In an interview with the Miami Herald, Crist said the tour was part of his desire to develop trust with Florida Latinos and listening to the needs of communities in each individual region.
“I think you do that by showing up, looking them in the eye, letting them see your heart,” said Crist. “It’s an ongoing thing for me, and I think it needs to be ongoing. You can’t just do a couple of days of reaching out [to Hispanic voters] … in Florida, it’s a daily thing.”
Ramirez said that during the tour, the campaign hopes to focus on a message of “supporting the end of communism, spreading freedom and democracy, economic opportunities,” access to good public schools and low-cost healthcare. Last month, days after massive protests broke out throughout Cuba, Crist released a statement asking for the Biden administration to send humanitarian aid directly to Cuba.
The statewide tour’s stop in South Florida will mark Crist’s second visit to Miami since he announced his gubernatorial run on May 4 in St. Petersburg. Just four days later, he traveled to Miami-Dade County, holding several events with local Cuban, Venezuelan and Haitian leaders and elected officials.
Crist’s visit next week also comes on the heels of historic anti-government protests in Cuba that have led to back-to-back appearances from local and national Republicans alongside the Cuban-American exile community, which has historically backed the GOP. Despite late efforts to target Latinos from Democrats, Republicans made significant gains in South Florida’s diverse Hispanic communities in the 2020 election, including winning back two key Congressional seats in Florida’s 26th and 27th districts.
