Reps. Charlie Crist and Darren Soto Visit Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rican representative accompanied the gubernatorial candidate to get to know the island and the close ties it has with Florida.

US Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) conoció en persona los encantos de Puerto Rico, este pasado fin de semana.

Crist arrived on the island last Friday along with US Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), who wanted Crist to get to know the island first-hand and learn about its close ties to Florida.

“We want to make sure that the [former] governor [Crist] is more familiar with the connections that exist between the island and places like central Florida,” Soto told El Nuevo Día.

Crist is one of three Democratic candidates running to unseat Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The other two candidates are Nikki Fried, Florida Agriculture Commissioner, and Sen. Annette Taddeo, who is the only Latina candidate running for the position. They will face off in the primaries on August 23.

Crist was governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011. In 2014, he lost by a 1% margin to Republican Rick Scott, who is now senator.

The representatives spent three days on the island. For Crist, it was a way to learn more about the over 1.2 million of Puerto Rican residents in Florida.

The gubernatorial candidate met with members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and veterans. He also went with Soto to the Plaza del Mercado de Santurce, exploring the possibility of an exchange of agricultural products between Puerto Rico and Florida.

During his stay on the island, Crist expressed his support for the statehood project that Soto co-authored with Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González.

“[I support any initiative] that listens to the will of the Island. I think the right thing to do was follow Darren’s leadership,” Crist said.