Former Florida governor Charlie Crist has completed his political conversion, announcing on Twitter that he has joined the Democrats as a result of the Republican party’s swing to the right.
The one-time GOP politician, who ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate as an independent, had earlier signaled his support for President Barack Obama and campaigned on his behalf ahead of the November election.
News that Crist has formalized the move to the Democratic party will prompt speculation that he may lobby for a run at his old seat in the 2014 gubernatorial race in Florida.
The 56-year-old politician tweeted out a picture of him and his wife Carole holding aloft a Florida voter registration application.
The accompanying message read: “Proud and honored to join the Democratic Party in the home of President @BarackObama.”
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Crist signed the papers changing his affiliation from independent to Democrat at a Christmas reception at the White House. President Obama is said to have greeted the news with a fist bump.
