Charlie Crist’s running mate turns up heat in bitter Florida race against Gov. Ron DeSantis

The clash between Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and challenger Charlie Crist is turning vicious — with the Democrat’s controversial choice of running mate only cranking up the ugliness.

On Saturday, Crist tapped Karla Hernandez-Mats, the head of the Miami-Dade teachers union and vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, to run alongside him as a candidate for lieutenant governor.

The choice signals Crist’s intent to highlight education policy — a key culture-war battlefront in the Sunshine State — in his underdog campaign to unseat DeSantis.