Crist, a new Democrat, to face GOP stalwart Scott in Florida

Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist continued his political comeback Tuesday as Democratic voters chose him to challenge Republican Gov. Rick Scott in Florida, one of four states where voters chose candidates for statewide office.

Crist easily defeated former state Sen. Nan Rich, while Scott, with more than 87 percent of the vote, coasted toward a general election matching the state's last two Republican governors. Both have struggled with sagging approval ratings and run-ins with conservatives.

Crist, who took the race with almost 75 percent of the vote, said the strong showing is a sign that Democrats believe in him. He is the first person in Florida to win the nomination for governor as a Republican and a Democrat.

The Florida governor’s race was one of several high profile races in state primary contests Tuesday, with others in Arizona, Vermont and Oklahoma.

In Arizona, state Treasurer Doug Ducey, the staunchly anti-abortion former chief executive of the ice cream company, Cold Stone Creamery, won the Republican gubernatorial primary, in a race to replace Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican.

What began as a fairly quiet contest focusing on health care and jobs shifted abruptly when thousands of immigrant children began coming into the country and some settled in the state.

Brewer had repeatedly clashed with the Obama administration over immigration, so voters were primed to have border security as a key issue in the race.

The six candidates obliged. In the quest for right-leaning Republican primary voters, they staked out hardline positions on immigration and repeatedly attacked the Obama administration for failing to secure the border.

Developer Scott Smith, the other top candidate with Ducey, conceded the race in a speech two hours after the polls closed ending what can politely be called a nasty race.

The dark horse candidate, Christine Jones, a former GoDaddy executive, spent $2 million of her own money and called Ducey a "misogynistic jerk" in response to comments he made about her experience at the hosting company known for its risqué or some would say sexist ads, featuring racecar driver Danica Patrick.

Democrat Fred DuVal ran unopposed in his primary and will face Ducey in November.

In the Second Congressional District, based in Tucson, Martha McSally, a retired Air Force colonel backed heavily by the Koch brothers and the National Republican Congressional Committee, won the Republican nomination. Her victory sets the stage for a rematch of 2012, when she lost to Ron Barber, a Democrat, by less than one percentage point.

Andy Tobin, the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives who said the border crises could result in Ebola entering the United States, is locked in a tight race against two opponents for the Republican nomination in the First Congressional District: Gary Kiehne, a wealthy rancher, and Adam Kwansman, a state legislator who mistook a bus filled with YMCA camp kids for unaccompanied child migrants. The winner will challenge Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick in November for the northern Arizona seat.

Vermont Republicans nominated businessman Scott Milne to face Democratic incumbent Peter Shumlin, who also leads the Democratic Governors Association.

Oklahoma Democrats chose state Sen. Connie Johnson as their Senate nominee over perennial candidate Jim Rogers. Johnson goes into the general election facing long odds against rising star Rep. James Lankford for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Tom Coburn. The GOP is expected to keep warming the seat as national Democrats have not set aside campaign cash for the race.

No such slacking off in Florida, where election year hardball will continue even though Democrats view the seat as a key pickup in a state President Barack Obama has won twice.

Crist, 58, previously won three statewide races as a GOP candidate, and it wasn't that long ago that he called himself a Ronald Reagan/Jeb Bush Republican. He was once considered a potential running mate for 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and had the backing of GOP leaders in a 2010 bid for Senate — until Republican Marco Rubio used an image of Crist hugging Obama to chase Crist from the primary. Crist then ran as an independent, but he ended up a distant second. In 2012, he endorsed Obama for a second term.

Scott, 61, who had minor primary opposition, has already spent millions of dollars on ads criticizing Crist and pointing out how he has changed from opposing to supporting same-sex marriage, gun control and Obama's health care plan.

The Crist vs. Scott general election matchup is expected to feature a high-profile debate over Obama's health care overhaul. Pressured by Republican legislators, Scott abandoned an initial call to expand Medicaid under the Democratic law. Crist has blasted the decision and, unlike many Democrats on the ballot this year, is an unapologetic cheerleader for the Affordable Care Act.

Wire services