Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum pulled off an upset victory Tuesday night when he won Florida’s Democratic primary for governor. If he wins the governorship in November, Gillum is set to become the first black governor of Florida.
He beat out former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham for the nomination.
“I want you to know that this thing is not about me,” he told a cheering crowd in his Tallahassee headquarter after his win. “This race is about every single one of us. Those of us inside this room. Those outside of this room. Those who voted for me. Those who didn’t vote at all. And those who didn’t vote for me because they are Republicans. But I want to be their governor, too.”
Now Gillum will be facing Trump-favored Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis in the upcoming election.
DeSantis has already started the shenanigans after his own primary win. On Wednesday morning, he told voters that they would “monkey this up” if they elected Gillum to be governor.
“The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state,” he told Fox News, while also calling Gillum “an articulate spokesman” for the far left.
Democrats in Florida were not having it, and responded quickly.
“It’s disgusting that Ron DeSantis is launching his general election campaign with racist dog whistles,” Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo said in a statement.
The Gillum campaign pointed to this statement when asked for response.
Gillum’s victory is important given that it was in a state crucial to the presidential primary and general election process.
