Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2014. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Former Florida governor Charlie Crist endorsed Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy for the U.S. Senate.
In a message on Facebook, Crist said the young congressman has the “energy, integrity and work ethic” needed in the upper chamber of Congress.
Murphy, who turns 32 next week, was elected to his second House term last year in a swing district on Florida’s East Coast. So far, Murphy is the only major candidate to have declared his candidacy for the seat now held by Sen. Marco Rubio — who is gearing up to seek the GOP presidential nomination.
Crist recently took himself out of the Senate race, and Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the national party, also declined to run. The Miami Herald notes Murphy’s chief of staff is a former Crist adviser and the former governor is a longtime friend of the congressman’s family.
