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Winner of Charlie Crist and Eric Lynn contest will decide Pinellas congressional race

 
Eric Lynn, a former Defense Department official, is running for his first elected office.
Eric Lynn, a former Defense Department official, is running for his first elected office.
Published April 16, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG — The fresh face and the career politician. The policy wonk and the hometown boy. The political opportunist and the carpetbagger.

Six months of political posturing between Charlie Crist and Eric Lynn in the 13th Congressional District race has produced plenty of possible narratives, but one ending appears clear.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary on Aug. 30 will almost certainly be the next congressman for the newly drawn district, thanks to a Florida Supreme Court decision last year that added a huge swath of Democrat-heavy south St. Petersburg.

After former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker announced this week he wasn't running, the Republican opposition is left with four long-shot candidates: Mark Bircher, Paul DeCailly, Will Leverson and Sharon Russ.

That leaves Lynn, 37, a former Obama administration defense official; and Crist, 59, a former Republican governor, attorney general and state senator who became a Democrat four years ago.

Despite entering the race only after the new boundaries were made safe for Democrats in October, Crist has surged ahead in the cash department. On Friday, he announced he has raised more than $778,000. Lynn has raised $753,000.

Lynn is running for his first elected office. He had been a Middle East adviser in President Barack Obama's administration.

"I have a deep understanding of national security and foreign policy issues and I would serve the district well," Lynn said in an interview, noting that Crist "hasn't served in Washington, previously."

Crist told the Tampa Bay Times that his tenure as governor, when he led trade missions to South America and Europe, gave him his foreign policy chops.

"When you're governor of a state the size of Florida, there is a lot of foreign policy that is brought to bear," he said.

On most issues — women's health, equal rights, raising the minimum wage — he and Lynn are in agreement, Crist said.

"I don't know that there's a whole lot of daylight between us on policy," Crist said.

"That's what Charlie Crist would like people to believe," Lynn said.

Lynn said he's a "true Democrat" who hasn't switched positions on abortion, trade agreements or touted an A+ rating from the NRA.

Both oppose the Trans-Pacific partnership, want to preserve Social Security (even if it means eliminating or raising the cap on contributions) and can't say enough good things about veterans.

A March poll, paid for by the Crist campaign, showed the former governor with a 60-point lead. Lynn's supporters aren't deterred, saying his name recognition and support will continue to rise.

Lynn has a steep climb. Crist can definitely work a room. At a west St. Petersburg event for retired UAW workers and a Clearwater chamber function, the former governor was stopped continuously by admirers in search of a selfie or handshake.

The race favors his strong suit, he says.

"Probably it skews more on the retail side," Crist said. "It comes down to who people are comfortable with as their representative in Washington. I think we're in good shape."

Lynn refuses to concede the ground game to Crist. He's been knocking on doors for months and visiting black churches in Midtown.

A late August primary, the week before Labor Day, confined to registered Democrats, will likely draw between 40,000 and 50,000 voters, he said.

"We'll knock on every one of those doors," he told a packed room at a recent fundraiser, saying he learned how to target Obama supporters.

Lynn isn't daunted by Crist's people skills.

"People will shake his hand and smile, but this is an election not favorable to career politicians. And he's a career politician," Lynn said.

Crist didn't have much to say about Lynn.

"He seems like a nice guy. I don't really know him," he said.

Voters know Crist, who's been in public life since his first unsuccessful race for state Senate in 1986. He's quick to remind voters of his family's ties to the area. His father's time on the Pinellas County School Board. His sister's teaching career.

But his long record also shows a propensity to leap at political opportunity. Is Congress just a resting spot until the next best thing comes along?

"I'll serve as long as the people want me," he says.

So Congress is the final stop for his political career?

"I don't know about that," Crist said. "But nothing else is on my radar."

Contact Charlie Frago at cfrago@tampabay.com or (727)893-8459. Follow@CharlieFrago.