He also benefited from donations and spending on his behalf by billionaires George Soros and Tom Steyer, and from the Collective, a super political action committee supporting Gillum. “This is the Florida that I know, this is the Florida that we all love, and we’ve dedicated ourselves to serve”.
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Democrats have not won the Florida governor’s mansion since 1994.
The new approach – being taken by Gillum and also Abrams in Georgia and some Democrats in other states – eschews moderation and emphasizes advocacy of strongly progressive positions.
Gillum fired back at the president on Twitter, writing: “What our state and country needs is decency, hope, and leadership”.
“There is not a profit margin in the state of Florida that ought to be able to rob us of those elements: clean water, clean air, good oceans”, Gillum said.
“To characterise it as anything else is absurd”, Mr Lawson said in a statement. None of that is my cup of tea, but he performed better than the other people there so we’ve got to work hard to make sure that we continue Florida going in a good direction.
Gillum won as an unabashed progressive who backed “Medicare for all”, impeaching Trump and standing up to the National Rifle Association.
They’re seeking to succeed Gov. Rick Scott, who can’t run for re-election because of term limits and is instead challenging Democratic U.S. Sen.
Democrats are now criticizing DeSantis’ remarks as being racist.
With 56.5-percent of the vote, Congressman Ron DeSantis has a shot at doing so.
“I think Ron is extraordinary in so many different ways”, Trump said.
“Listen, I’ve been elected for 15 years, I don’t mind taking a punch and I can deliver one myself”, Gillum said. “I’m going to be here to do the business of the people of the state of Florida”, Gillum told CNN Wednesday.
In Orange, Gillum trailed Graham in mail-in voting, which began in late July, but pulled ahead of her in early voting beginning August 16 and outpolled her on election day nearly 2 to 1.
DeSantis, the Republican candidate, sailed to victory with Fox News interviews, a late endorsement from President Trump, and an unabashed embrace of the language and imagery of Trump’s White House.
President Trump wasted no time congratulating the 52-year-old congresswoman on her win in an early Wednesday morning tweet. Despite a recent decrease, Leon county’s crime rate alluded to by Trump is still the highest in the state. “I watched those Democratic debates”. He was elected mayor in 2014. Both candidates will try to lure Hispanic voters, though Republicans tend to court South Florida Cubans while Democrats typically reach out more to Central Florida Puerto Ricans. His opponents didn’t go after what could prove to be Gillum’s biggest vulnerability, ongoing investigations into possible corruption in Tallahassee government, where he is mayor.
“We were counted out every step of the way”, Gillum said.
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Kemp’s campaign ads might have been an attempt at humor but his boasts of using his pickup truck to round up illegal immigrants and to threaten one of his daughter’s suitors with a firearm made (as his defeated primary opponent Lt. Governor Casey Cagle noted) the race seem to be about “who had the biggest gun, who had the biggest truck and who could be the craziest”.
