ST. PETERSBURG — A week after leaving the Democratic main for Florida governor, state Sen. Annette Taddeo on Monday endorsed former marketing campaign rival U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist for the job of difficult Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis within the fall.
Taddeo urged different Florida Democrats to rally round Crist, a Democratic congressman from St. Petersburg who served one time period as governor when he was within the Republican Party within the late 2000s.
Taddeo was Crist’s operating mate in his failed bid for governor in 2014 in opposition to then-incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Scott. After Taddeo left the race final week, Crist and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried remained the strongest candidates operating within the Democratic main.
“Make no mistake, Charlie is ready for the fight ahead. He is battle-tested and has a true vision to deliver change across Florida,” Taddeo mentioned in a assertion. “Most importantly, he is our strongest candidate to defeat Ron DeSantis.”
Taddeo is now operating as a Democratic nominee in a South Florida congressional race. The seat is at present held by Republican Rep. MarÃa Elvira Salazar, who took workplace after successful her 2020 election. Taddeo faces Miami Commissioner Ken Russell and group organizer Angel Montalvo within the Aug. 23 Democratic main.
Taddeo, 55, is the founder and CEO of LanguageSpeak, which presents translation providers in additional than 240 languages.