Florida’s 1st black nominee for gov. challenged GOP dominance
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Andrew Gillum, who tried to energize Florida’s young and minority voters through a Democratic coalition seeking to end two decades of Republican control of the governor’s office, ended his hard-fought campaign Saturday as the state’s first black nominee for the post.
Gillum, whose refrain had been “bring it home” as he recounted stories of growing up poor in the state, concluded his campaign with a Facebook video he recorded and financial backing from alongside well-known liberal billionaires his wife in a with his first bid for park. statewide office. He ran
In his on a liberal platform that four-minute included expanding Medicaid plus video, and raising taxes to Gillum congratulated spend more on education even though both ideas Republican would have been hard to Ron DeSantis and also pass through the GOP-controlled vowed to remain politically Legislature. active even though His final act as a candidate his term as mayor of the was less confrontational Florida capital of Tallahassee than that of another ends next week. Of his prominent African-American future plans, Gillum said: candidate in this year’s “stay tuned.” midterm elections: Stacy
Gillum, just 39 years old, Abrams in neighboring earned national attention Georgia ended her campaign for governor on Friday, ceding to a Republican with an unapologetically indignant tone establishing herself as a leading voting rights advocate.
“This has been the journey of our lives,” said Gillum, appearing in the video with his wife, R. Jai Gillum. “Although nobody wanted to be governor more than me that this was not just about an election cycle. This was about creating the type of change in this state that really allows for the voices of everyday people to show up again in our government, in our state, and in our communities. We know that this fight continues.”
Gillum’s concession came hours before Florida’s counties must turn in their official results at noon Sunday after tense days of recounting ballots in both the gubernatorial and a U.S. Senate contest — two nationally watched midterm elections that have keep the presidential swing state on edge since Election Day.
Gillum’s brief remarks came hours after President Donald Trump, who at one point in the campaign had sharply criticized Gillum, praised him for running a tough race.
“He will be a strong Democrat warrior long into the future - a force to reckon with!” said Trump in a Twitter post.