Democrats in Florida held unity rallies on Thursday as a show of support for Charlie Crist, the former Republican state governor who is now running for the rival party in the upcoming polls.

Former Florida Senator Nan Rich, Crist's rival in the primaries, also joined the unity rallies to demonstrate his support for the Democratic Party. Rich described Crist as the man who will bring victory to the Democrats in the November elections, Reuters reported.

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During an event held in Orlando, Crist delivered a statement appreciating the unity tour, which he said does not usually occur in the Democratic Party.

After defeating Rich by almost 49 percentage points, Crist is now aiming to defeat Rick Scott, a Republican governor who topped the primary.

The Democratic unity tour stopped by Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Annette Taddeo, Crist's running mate, and Florida lawmaker Bill Nelson joined Crist onstage.

The presence of the heavy-ranking Democrats in the unity tour showed that they have embraced Crist as part of their party, Miami Herald said.

The people of Florida support Crist as the only gubernatorial candidate who "shares their interest," Wasserman Schultz said via Twitter.

Crist was the Republican governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and there were some doubts if the Democrats would embrace him as their candidate for the same position. However, the success of the unity rallies put those doubts to rest.

The Democratic candidate's strong victory in the primaries was soured by a weak voter turnout. Voters in South Florida, a place considered by the Democrats as their stronghold, showed little interest for this year's election.

Boosting the turnout in South Florida remains Crist's biggest challenge in the November polls. In 2010, Democrat Alex Sink notably lost against Scott with only a 41 percent turnout in Broward.

TagsDemocrats, Florida, Charlie Crist, Republican, Nan Rich, Reuters, Orlando, Rick Scott, Fort Lauderdale, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Annette Taddeo, Bill Nelson, Miami Herald, Alex Sink