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'''Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr.''' (born July 24, 1956), is an [[attorney]] and a former [[governor]], state Senator and Attorney General of the State of [[Florida]]. He served as a [[Republican]] for the majority of his term as governor, before becoming an [[Independent]] in 2010.  

'''Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr.''' (born July 24, 1956), is an [[attorney]] and a former [[governor]], state Senator and Attorney General of the State of [[Florida]]. He served as a [[Republican]] for the majority of his term as governor, before becoming an [[Independent]] in 2010.  

Crist ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010; his rival in the 2010 GOP primary was state House Speaker [[Marco Rubio]], a conservative Cuban American. Crist started trailing in the polls to Rubio by large margins and in April 2010 he decided to run as a Independent since it was almost certain he would lose the Republican nomination to Rubio. He lost to Rubio anyway, by a margin of 49% to 30%, with [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Kendrick Meek]] getting 20% of the vote.

Crist ran for the [[United States|U.S.]] Senate in 2010, competing in the GOP primary race for the seat held by Crist's own appointee, Senator [[George LeMieux]]. LeMieux had replaced Senator [[Mel Martinez]], who had announced he was quitting the Senate. Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, [[Marco Rubio]], also ran for the seat in the 2010 GOP primary. Crist started trailing in the polls to Rubio by large margins and in April 2010 he decided to run as a Independent as it appeared he would lose the nomination to Rubio. Rubio won the general election in November 2010 by a margin of 49% to 30%, with [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Kendrick Meek]] getting 20% of the vote.

==Early life and education==

==Early life and education==