Crist to Headline Christian Fundraiser

Florida governor Charlie Crist, a frequent subject of gay rumors, will headline a right-wing Christian fund-raiser next month as he seeks to outmaneuver Marco Rubio, his more conservative opponent for the U.S. Senate nomination in 2010.

According to the St. Petersburg Times,Crist will address an audience that supported Amendment 2, which last year wrote a ban on same-sex marriage and equivalent unions into Florida's constitution.

"Crist will headline the Christian Family Coalition's annual gala on Nov. 13 in Miami," the Times reported. "The group opposed Miami Dade's registry of same-sex partners and advocated the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage."

The flirtation with the religious right represents a change in tone for Crist, previously described as more of a moderate, according to the Times.

"Crist's appointments of Ricky L. Polston and Charles Canady to the Florida Supreme Court last year were both heavily backed by the religious right," the paper reported. "But he campaigned in 2006 as a moderate who didn't crusade against abortion, gay civil unions or embryonic stem cell research."