Crist Delivers Concession Speech Shortly After Polls Close; Crowd in Dismay When He Mentions DeSantis
Democrat Charlie Crist added to the agony of Florida Democrats Tuesday when he mentioned the night’s big winner in his concession speech: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“First and foremost, I want to give a good congratulations to Governor DeSantis on his re-election,” Crist said.
After some grumping from the crowd, Crist remarked, “that’s OK, that’s OK,” before thanking the workers gathered with him.
Charlie Crist (D) starts his concession speech by immediately congratulating Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), prompting groans from the crowd. pic.twitter.com/JfeEjnRn4u
— The Recount (@therecount) November 9, 2022
“Florida’s been great to me my entire life,” Crist said.
He offered thanks “for so much for so long” and said his past service made him feel like “the most blessed man ever.”
“Governor DeSantis and your family, I wish you only the best,” he said.
Charlie Crist is on stage in St Pete at his election night HQ, beginning his concession speech by congratulating Ron DeSantis pic.twitter.com/6Pl1TXxp9H
— Ryan Dailey (@RT_Dailey) November 9, 2022
DeSantis had called his victory “a win for the ages,” noted the New York Post.
It also vaulted DeSantis to undisputed national prominence, wrote New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin.
What Gov. DeSantis just said in his victory speech after getting RE-ELECTED made ground SHAKE as crowd ERUPTED into cheers:
“We will never ever surrender to the woke mob! Florida is where woke goes to die!”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 9, 2022
“The Florida governor won a smashing blowout Tuesday by routing Democrat Charlie Crist by nearly 19 points, a margin that no poll predicted. He followed that with a raucous speech that was both a celebration and a skillfully worded test of national themes as he declared, ‘Florida is where woke goes to die,’” he wrote.
“And, likely referring to the fact that he won Miami-Dade County, a longtime Democrat stronghold that is 70% Latino, by double digits, DeSantis declared, ‘We not only won election, we have rewritten the political map,’” Goodwin wrote.
At the rate Florida is going, an NPA candidate for governor may have a better shot than a Democrat in 2026. It’s that bad. Complete collapse.
We either reset or go extinct.
— Kevin Cate (@KevinCate) November 8, 2022
The win is also a landmark event for electoral vote-rich Florida, Christian Ziegler, vice chairman of Florida’s Republican Party of Florida, said, according to Politico.
“To be honest I have enjoyed our battleground status because it makes campaigning a lot of fun,” he said.
“But right now I think what you saw tonight is Florida officially moved from a battleground state to a conservative state. That’s what we saw tonight. This was a big win,” he said.
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