Comeback kid? Crist may have another run in him – for Congress

Now he has eyes on the U.S. House seat of David Jolly, who has announced that he is running for Marco Rubio’s U.S. Senate seat.

Just hours after U.S. Rep. David Jolly announced he’s running for Senate, former Gov. Charlie Crist said on Twitter he intends to run for Jolly’s seat. He was scheduled to carry a marketing campaign rally later within the day.

Jolly joins U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and businessman Todd Wilcox in the Republican primary.

But, as the Tampa Bay Times explains, redistricting in the state is likely to make Jolly’s Tampa-area district much more Democratic.

“I have been blessed with the opportunity to represent the people of Pinellas County in the U.S. House, taking their voice to Washington, D.C., and delivering results for our neighbors and community”, said Jolly. He defeated former CFO Alex Sink and Libertarian Lucas Overby in a special election in 2014.

The Democratic candidates are Representatives Patrick Murphy and Alan Grayson. More than $11 million was spent on that race, according to the Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit group that tracks government information.

“I do believe in personal freedom”, Jolly said Monday when asked about his stance on same-sex marriage.

In his statement, Jolly emphasized his anti-Obamacare stance and his criticism of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, particularly in Syria.

“We will not tolerate failed foreign policies and wavering alliances that leave America vulnerable to a risky treaty with Iran, weakness before our enemies and a failed policy to combat ISIS, ” Jolly said. But he decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 instead of seeking a second term in the governor’s mansion and wound up losing as an independent candidate to Rubio. Crist was elected governor in 2006 as a Republican but later switched parties. That is, if a new map puts him within its borders.

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If the Legislature follow’s the Supreme Court’s suggestion, the heavily Democratic section of Pinellas County would be added to Jolly’s district.