Joe Henderson: There’s a method to Charlie Crist’s visit to The Villages

Image via Charlie Crist

Over the weekend, Democrat Charlie Crist ventured into The Villages. That’s the crimson red Republican retiree stronghold sprawling over five counties in North Central Florida. He joined members of The Villages Democratic Club — yeah, there is one there — on a golf cart tour.

Why, you may ask, would Crist waste precious campaign time there. Skeptics would chuckle that he’ll be lucky to win maybe one Villages vote out of every 10. Ron DeSantis owes his 2018 victory to The Villages, which he won by 180,942 votes. He won the Governor’s mansion by 32,463 votes.

Do the math.

For the answer to what Crist was doing there, let’s look back to when he formally entered the race to be Florida’s Governor. That’s when I asked him then what he learned from his narrow loss in 2014 to Rick Scott.

“I didn’t spend enough time in North Florida. I ceded it to Gov. Scott,” Crist said. That won’t happen again.”

Toward that end, Crist ventured to deep red Pensacola the day after formally announcing his candidacy. He is making good on his vow to crisscross the state — the whole state — with his message that he would be the Governor for all Floridians.

That brings us back to The Villages. He probably won’t get a lot of votes out of there, but it won’t be for lack of trying against the seemingly unbeatable DeSantis juggernaut.

“Going to Republican places in our state is probably even more important,” Crist said at the rally. “Because we have to make sure that they’re heard. That we listen to them and that we want them to be part of this Florida for all too.”

Most definitely, seniors are not just a part of Florida, they can tip the balance of an election. DeSantis has been at The Villages so often he should file for a homestead exemption.

But in the battle to capture those who might be undecided, Crist chose this visit to unveil his “Seniors for Crist” initiative.

Its website notes, “Seniors for Crist is a chance to make sure the voices of the seniors in our community and across the Sunshine State are heard. This coalition will serve as an advocacy and organizing arm of the campaign and will bring seniors together from all 67 counties to ensure they have a seat at the table.”

Crist has said he has an action plan to address seniors’ needs. It includes Medicaid expansion, lower prescription drug costs, supporting seniors with disabilities and care workers, building age-friendly communities, and protecting state employee retirees.

That’s ambitious, and seniors — red or blue — likely would agree with those points. Crist has to do more than just offer that concept though. His underlying message is that DeSantis is more worried about winning the presidency in 2024 than about helping seniors.

Last week, the Governor signed a bill that reduces the required minimum amount of direct “nursing” care for nursing home residents by 20%.

AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson called the law “appalling, but not surprising” and said the “nursing home industry’s desperation to protect its profits” was the impetus.

But DeSantis also signed a law that improves nursing home patient visitation rights. That will play well with many seniors.

Crist can talk a good game, but DeSantis has the power to deliver the goods for now. And the Governor gets many, many millions of dollars of free media for everything he does.

Give Crist credit though. He said he would go wherever he could to spread his message that things would be different if he won. That includes The Villages.