Mitch Perry
St. Petersburg City Councilwoman Darden Rice, who at one point this year flirted with the possibility of running in the CD 13 seat being vacated by GOP incumbent David Jolly, said Thursday she’s endorsing newly minted candidate Charlie Crist in the contest.
“Pinellas County deserves a voice in Washington, but Congress is more interested in obstruction and partisan politics,” Rice said in a prepared statement. “That’s why I believe Charlie Crist is the best person to get the job done. The values I fight for on the St. Petersburg City Council are the same ones he’ll fight for in Congress, like ensuring fair wages, protecting our environment and investing in smart infrastructure. I look forward to working with Charlie as The People’s Congressman from Pinellas County.”
Crist is running against Eric Lynn in the Democratic primary for Congress in Florida’s 13th District.
The 45-year-old Rice was elected to the St. Petersburg City Council two years ago, and announced in June that she was considering a run for the Democratic nomination for Congress against Jolly. At the time, only Lynn had declared, and there was a scramble among other Democrats to possibly challenge him in the race.
But in early July she announced that she would not pursue a run.
The politics of the CD 13 changed dramatically just a week later, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the district (and seven others) had been illegally gerrymandered by the Florida Legislature in 2012.
Since that time a new map has been drawn up by the Legislature for CD 13 and approved by Circuit Judge Terry Lewis that makes the seat much more advantageous for a Democrat to win. That’s why in part Jolly announced he would not run for re-election to it, and is now running for U.S. Senate. And it’s why Crist got into the race just two days ago, where he is now considered the heavy favorite.
No Republican has entered the contest, though former Mayor Rick Baker says he is contemplating a run, but won’t announce anything definitive for a few months.
