As the 2014 race for Florida's governor ramps up, voters find themselves in the unique position of observing a candidate who was in one party when he was previously in office and is now running for the same office with the other major party.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist was a Republican until 2010, when he dropped his party affiliation and became an NPA (No Party Affiliation) candidate for U.S. Senate. 

After that unsuccessful run, Crist stayed out of the spotlight until 2012, when he changed his party affiliation to Democrat.

Now, as Crist campaigns in 2014 to be governor again, his opposition is reminding voters about his positions on issues when he was a Republican compared to what they are now.  Recently, the Republican Party of Florida sent out an email to point out Crist's change on the issues. The email said this:

"In 2006, Charlie Crist opposed in-state tuition for illegal immigrants."

PolitiFact checked out this claim.  PolitiFact reporter Josh Gillin says claim earns a TRUE rating.

"The Republican Party of Florida sent out that email, and when we contacted them for their sources, they pointed us to a Miami Herald article from 2006 that said then-Attorney General Charlie Crist thought that in-state tuition for illegal immigrants was a bad idea," Gillin said.  "We looked through our archives at the Tampa Bay Times and found corroborating articles that reinforced both Crist's previous position and the RPOF's current claim."

Gillin says Crist had publically opposed the tuition for illegal immigrants, calling the Legislature's move in 2006 to reject a bill containing those provisions "the right thing to do." 

Now in 2014, Crist has publically said he's in favor of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, reasoning that it's unfair for the government to punish the children of illegal immigrants because they weren't in control of their own destiny.  Because of the well-documented change in positions, PolitiFact's Truth-O-Meter rates the RPOF's claim as TRUE.

 

SOURCES: Charlie Crist and in-state tuition for immigrants