Gillum is going all the way to Key West. It’s a blue spot in a red county
Andrew Gillum is going to the end of the road to campaign for Florida governor.
On Thursday, he’ll be on a Key West beach. Not relaxing, but looking for last-minute votes in a city where he’s likely to find mostly registered Democrats. Unlike the rest of the island chain, the Southernmost City runs blue.
While the Keys went decidedly in favor of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, it’s not clear how that translates to this year’s gubernatorial race. Republican Gov. Rick Scott eked out a victory during his 2014 reelection campaign against Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, but he lost the Monroe County vote by five percentage points.
Democrat Gillum will appear at Higgs Beach from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday. He is then scheduled to travel to Homestead around noon, according to campaign aide Daniela Martins.
Gillum faces Republican Ron DeSantis in the Nov. 6 election. DeSantis, who is backed by President Trump, does not have plans to visit the Keys before Election Day. But his running mate, state Rep. Jeanette Nunez, R-Kendall, is scheduled to appear with state Rep. Holly Raschein, R-Key Largo, at Key Largo Fisheries from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday, said DeSantis’ communications director Stephen Lawson.
The South Florida stop is one of many the Gillum campaign has planned as the heated campaign for governor of Florida winds down, with polls showing a tight race.
The latest Public Research Laboratory at University of North Florida poll has Gillum up 4 points over DeSantis, 40, a U.S. Navy veteran and former congressman who represented Florida’s 6th district since 2012 before stepping down to run for governor earlier this year.
Gillum, 39, has served as Tallahassee mayor since 2014. He won an upset primary victory for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination against former congresswoman Gwen Graham in August and has since gained the endorsements of party heavy hitters, including former President Barack Obama.
How he’ll do in the Keys, which trends red outside of heavily blue Key West, remains to be seen.
Phil, Dodderidge, vice chairman of the Florida Keys Democrats, is optimistic based on the high early voting numbers in the Keys. As of Wednesday, almost 27 percent of registered Monroe County voters, 14,406 people, cast ballots. By this time in 2014, slightly less than 3,000 people voted early in the Keys, but turnout on Election Day was almost 60 percent.
“In 2014, we had 56 percent turnout for the whole community, and we’re optimistic we’ll beat that by one to two percentage points,” Dodderidge said. “We’ve never seen such incredible enthusiasm for all the races here.”
But Keys Republicans seem equally optimistic in DeSantis’ chances among archipelago voters, said Katy Ovide, Monroe County committeewoman for the state GOP.
“I wish Mayor Gillum the best in coming to the Keys, but I believe once people read his background, the investigations going on and what his platform is, they’ll see Ron DeSantis is the best candidate,” Ovide said, referring to an FBI probe into Tallahassee City Hall.
A former Gillum confidant released hundreds of texts and emails earlier this month indicating undercover federal agents posing as developers sent Gillum gifts, including picking up the catering bill for a fundraising event and tickets to the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton.”
Gillum denies any wrongdoing and maintains he is not the subject of an FBI investigation.
State Republican Committee member Stephen Hammond said Trump and Scott — who himself is in a tight race for U.S. Senate against longtime Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson — have delivered positive results for Florida constituents. That’s despite the various controversies swirling around both politicians, and that’s what matters most to voters when they cast their ballot, he said.
“There’s absolutely no reason why Monroe voters would vote for a corrupt career politician, like Andrew Gillum, over proven Republican leadership,” Hammond said.
This story was originally published October 31, 2018 at 10:54 AM.