Democrats’ Florida gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum dubbed Florida the "uh-oh state" in a campaign stop Saturday, telling his audience they could improve the state’s reputation by electing him.
The Tallahassee mayor rode the endorsement of democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) to an upset victory in the primary last month, and he has touted his "unapologetic" progressive agenda. He said Democrats have come close in Florida many times in the recent past, and this is an opportunity to "change that narrative."
"Too often Florida is seen as always the uh-oh state," he said. "Uh oh, they’ve done it again. Uh oh, they can’t run elections. Uh oh, we got close enough, but we couldn’t get past it."
"We’re gonna change that narrative on November sixth," he added.
He went on to argue there is an absence of leadership, decency, and common sense in Washington, D.C., and Florida needs to send it a message. In addition, he told his supporters they need to vote to send other Floridians a message about the standards of leadership they ought to have.
"Right here in the state of Florida we have the chance to send an unapologetic message," he said. "A message that says there is still decency in the United States of America."
Florida is a swing state in presidential elections but has had Republican governors for the last two decades. Rep. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.) is hoping to extend that streak with his run to replace fellow Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.).
Gillum has called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and passing Medicare for All legislation. He said Florida has been a "cheap date" and needs to raise taxes on businesses in order to be a "leading state" with more social spending.
Gillum is also dealing with a corruption probe into his administration, which has grown in scope in recent weeks. He maintains he is not implicated in the investigation.