Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist of Florida, who recently won the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, is framing the election as a contest between love and hate.
“Ron DeSantis WILL lose this November. It’s a story as old as time: Hate will lose, love will win,” Crist tweeted on Friday.
Earlier this week, Crist said that he does not want the votes of DeSantis supporters, suggesting that they harbor hate within their hearts.
During an appearance on MSNBC this week, Crist said of the governor, “He is on the battlefield of hate, I am on the battlefield of love.”
In another tweet on Friday, Crist claimed that DeSantis is taking away people’s liberty. “Don’t be fooled by Ron DeSantis’s far-right propaganda — he doesn’t protect freedom, he takes it away.”
He has also referred to the governor as “anti-freedom Ron.”
Reports indicate that on Saturday Crist is expected to announce Karla Hernandez-Mats as his running mate.
Hernandez-Mats is the president of United Teachers of Dade, a left-wing teachers union. She has previously shared a cartoon on social media that appears to take a swipe at parents — in the cartoon, a group of individuals wearing what look like frightening Halloween costumes say that they are heading to a school board meeting.
“For any of you following the school board meetings, you know that the craziness is real. God be with us. #antivaxxers #disinformation #misinformation” Hernandez-Mats tweeted last year when sharing the cartoon.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is currently running for re-election, announced this week that he is pledging $100,000 to support Crist.
Crist previously served as Florida governor from early 2007 until early 2011, but after winning that job as a Republican, he lost a 2010 U.S. Senate bid as an independent. He lost the state’s 2014 gubernatorial contest as a Democrat. Crist is currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.