Curse words and (gasp!) casinos

Columnist Scott Maxwell exposes eye-rolling election ads.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday implored young proAndrew Gillum rallygoers at the University of Central Florida to vote in this year’s election, even leading a march of students to the school’s early voting site himself.

In the last midterm in 2014, “the group that voted in the worst way, with the lowest voter turnout, was young people,” Sanders said. “So let me be very blunt with the young people of Florida. … Let me humbly suggest to you that the future of American democracy, that your future as Americans, is almost as important as Thursday night football.”

Sanders was at the CFE Arena at UCF for the second time this year to rally for Gillum, the Democratic candidate for governor, who Sanders said was “as strong and progressive any gubernatorial candidate in America.” Sanders gave the Tallahassee mayor a key boost in August before his come-from-behind primary victory.

Gillum didn’t join the Vermont senator Tuesday, choosing to continue on his bus tour, but Gillum’s running mate Chris King of Winter Park introduced Sanders and pre-emptively took some shots at President Trump and GOP governor nominee Ron DeSantis before their joint rally in Fort Myers on Wednesday night.

“The president comes to Florida tonight, and he is going to make some real ugly charges about my friend and your friend Andrew Gillum to try to give some lift to Ron DeSantis,” King said. “And he needs some lift,