Charlie Crist
Charles Crist, Jr.
44th Governor of Florida
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2, 2007
Lieutenant
Jeff Kottkamp
Preceded by
Jeb Bush
35th Attorney General of Florida
In office
2003 – 2007
Governor
Jeb Bush
Preceded by
Richard E. Doran
Succeeded by Bill McCollum
Born
July 24, 1956 (1956-07-24)
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Political party Republican
Spouse
Amanda Morrow (1979-1980)
(divorced)
Carole Rome (2008-present)
Residence
St. Petersburg, Florida
Alma mater
Florida State University,
Cumberland School of Law
Profession
Lawyer
Religion
Methodist
Website
flgov.com
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. (born
July 24, 1956) is an American politician of the
Republican Party and the current Governor
of Florida. Crist was Florida’s attorney gener-
al when he won election as governor, thus
becoming the first Florida cabinet official in
95 years to be elected governor (since Park
Trammell). As governor, Crist has echoed his
predecessor, Jeb Bush, by taking generally
conservative positions on a broad range of
social issues while diverging from Republican
orthodoxy on fiscal management and environ-
mental policy. He has been described as fos-
tering better relationships with minority com-
munities, particularly the African-American
community, and lauded by environmental
groups for his opposition to coastal oil
drilling and his efforts to restore the Ever-
glades using land purchased with public
funds. His current term as governor expires
in January 2011. Though eligible under Flor-
ida law to seek a consecutive term as gov-
ernor in the 2010 election cycle, Crist an-
nounced May 12, 2009 that he will not run
for re-election as governor in 2010, and in-
stead will run for the US Senate in 2010.
Personal life
Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania[1] to
Dr. Charlie Crist Sr., an American physician
of Greek Cypriot descent, and Nancy Lee, of
Scotch-Irish American descent. Often mispro-
nounced today as "Christ", his surname had
originally
been
"Christodoulou".[2] Crist
moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, as a child,
where