This November’s gubernatorial match-up in Florida will be an epic contest, with one candidate strongly backed by President Trump, and the other by Sen. Bernie Sanders.
An endorsement from Trump and backing from Fox News, helped Rep. Ron DeSantis win Florida’s GOP primary for governor over Adam Putnam, the agriculture commissioner who began the race as the favorite.
Trump first endorsed DeSantis, the 39-year-old former Navy lawyer, to replace term-limited Gov. Rick Scott in December 2017, calling him “a brilliant young leader” on Twitter at the time. DeSantis had previously lobbied Trump for his support on Air Force One en route to a political rally in Alabama.
The race is another reflection of Trump’s influence with GOP primary voters.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum won the Democratic nomination, scoring a major victory for the party’s progressive wing while taking another step toward becoming the state’s first black chief executive.
Backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and a coalition of progressive groups, Gillum upset former Rep. Gwen Graham who led in the polls for most of the campaign. He outlasted a field of five competitive candidates, in which he was the only non-millionaire — and only supporter of “Medicare for all” single-payer health care.
Sanders tonight praised Gillum and Floridians for “standing up and demanding change.”
At stake for both parties is control of the governors office in one of the key swing states in presidential elections.