Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist Supports Marriage Equality

In a Facebook post Wednesday, former Republican Florida governor Charlie Crist formally came out in support of marriage equality. Although Crist served six years as the Republican governor, he ran for a Senate seat as an independent, and last December he formally joined the Democratic Party, according to The New York Times.

Commending passage of marriage equality legislation in Delaware and Rhode Island, Crist fell in line with the Democratic Party's platform supporting marriage equality with a post on his official Facebook page Wednesday.

"I most certainly support marriage equality in Florida," wrote Crist, "and look forward to the day that it happens here." The post has garnered more than 1,000 likes.

But the Tampa Bay Tribune notes that Crist supported a statewide ban on same-sex marriage in 2006 during the Republican gubernatorial primary. In that campaign Crist sent out mailers touting his support for "traditional marriage," the Tribune reports. Calling Crist a likely Democratic gubernatorial candidate, the Tribune asserted that the former Republican "still has some explaining to do about his position" to his new Democratic colleagues, whom he will address in Hillsborough County Saturday night.