O’Neal backs Levine in governor’s race
Shaquille O’Neal, the former Miami Heat and Orlando Magic center who pitches an array of commercial products, is endorsing a candidate in the race for Florida governor.
His pick, announced Tuesday, is Democrat Philip Levine, the former mayor of Miami Beach.
“You know, I’ve met a lot of people in my life — but there’s something really special about this guy from Florida who’s never been afraid to step up for others when the game of life is on the line; his name is Philip Levine,” O’Neal says in a radio ad the Levine campaign said it would run in markets across the state.
O’Neal is well known for his career playing with six NBA teams during the 1990s and 2000s and for his entertaining shtick as an NBA analyst on the TNT cable network. He also endorses products such as Icy Hot pain reliever and the Buick Enclave, whose TV ads feature the 7-foot-1-inch Shaq cramming himself into the car.
He’s also talked politics before, including a 2013 re-election endorsement of former New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie, best known nationally for his administration’s role in closing the George Washington Bridge to punish a political foe and for his poor showing as a 2016 candidate for president.
“I don’t endorse many politicians, but Chris Christie is different,” O’Neal said in the TV ad he made for Christie. “He’s a good man. Excuse me, he’s a great man.” Christie won that election.
In 2017, O’Neal endorsed Democrat Phil Murphy, who went on to win the New Jersey governor’s race.
Earlier this year, he endorsed Orlando Police Chief John Mina for Orange County sheriff, calling him the “person best qualified to be our next sheriff.” That endorsement has been controversial among some AfricanAmerican activists, concerned about excessive force and police misconduct during Mina’s administration.
O’Neal also endorsed the 2016 re-election of “my good friend Broward Sheriff Scott Israel.”
At various times over the last decade, O’Neal has mused about running for sheriff himself, either in Broward or Orange counties. He is currently a registered voter in Windermere in Orange County. He’s been a reserve police officer or honorary deputy in multiple jurisdictions, including Miami Beach, Doral, Los Angeles and Clayton County, Ga.
Levine, who received Shaq’s blessing on Tuesday, is one of five candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.
One of the other candidates, former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, received a more traditional endorsement Tuesday, from Maurice A. Ferré, the first Hispanic mayor of Miami.
Ferré said Graham is the candidate who “most offers Floridians the opportunity to come together.”