Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist launches third gubernatorial bid
CBSN
Florida Democratic Congressman and former Florida Republican Governor Charlie Crist on Tuesday launched his campaign to try to reclaim the governor's mansion.
"I'm running so you will be in charge again. So you will have a governor who will work for the people with a steady hand and an open heart. That is a moment built on consensus rather than fueling division. To restore civility instead of demonizing those who have a different point of view. Together we will build a Florida for all," he said at his campaign launch in St. Petersburg on Tuesday. Crist first served as Florida's governor, as a Republican, from 2007 to 2011. After an unsuccessful bid to be the state's GOP nominee for a Senate seat in 2010, Crist became a Democrat in 2012. He lost to Republican Rick Scott in Florida's 2014 gubernatorial race by 1 percentage point.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.