Charlie Crist taps Miami-Dade teachers’ union head for Lieutenant Governor

Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist has chosen Miami-born teachers’ union leader Karla Hernández-Mats as his running mate in the 2022 Governor’s race, positioning education a key wedge issue leading into the General Election.

Supporters lauded Crist’s choice of Hernández-Mats, president of United Teachers of Dade and vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, as a “breath of fresh air.” Gov. Ron DeSantis devotees condemned it as a “slap in the face to Florida parents.”

Hernández-Mats pushed against DeSantis’ anti-masking policies and opposed new GOP-backed education laws, including restrictions on discussions of race, sex and gender in the classroom.

– Jesse Scheckner, Florida Politics