At Gillum watch party, eager hope transforms into another soggy night for Dems

In the end, it was Florida’s mercurial weather that proved to be a better omen of Andrew Gillum’s night than the polls.

The Tallahassee mayor turned Democratic gubernatorial nominee had crisscrossed the state for 21 months, campaigning on the most liberal platform Floridians had seen in decades. He’d promised better-paying jobs, more access to healthcare, an economy he said would serve and lift up the state’s working class. In return, he’d tell every crowd he met that his mother had told him to ask for just one thing: “a chance.”

The polls had him consistently, if narrowly, ahead. His campaign planned a lively, outdoor celebration at Florida A&M University, his alma mater, to mark the night they hoped would restore Democrats to power in state government.

But instead, an early downpour dampened the mood, drenching staffers, reporters and attendees in early evening rain that echoed the muted reaction as Gillum’s so-hoped-for blue wave slipped away in another statewide loss for Florida Democrats Tuesday night.

Gillum had sought to bring a rare victory home to his political roots in Tallahassee, where he met his wife, led the protests that first made him a prominent student activist and launched his first campaign for city commission that had seeded his mayoral, then gubernatorial run.

But millions of Floridians denied him the chance to reach the Governor’s Mansion, despite eager hopes of Democratic wins that would overturn Republican control in Florida’s capital.

Chants of “bring it home!” turned to sullen silence in a FAMU courtyard as hundreds at his watch party witnessed Gillum become yet another Democrat to fall narrowly short in a statewide election. Defying what had once been dismissed as an outside campaign, Gillum had appeared to be the narrow frontrunner in polls leading into election night.

But Republican rival Ron DeSantis captured a lead after voting closed in the western part of the state. That lead only widened as the evening wore on, though it remained a narrow one that stretched the final result of the race late into the night.

Gillum did not concede until shortly before 11 p.m., when surrounded by his wife, his running mate Chris King and his wife Kristen, he said he had called DeSantis to concede.

“We could not be prouder of the way we ran this race,” he said. “We didn’t win this transaction... What we believe in still holds true today.”

Two months earlier, he and his bare-bones campaign had shocked the country when they narrowly won the Democratic nomination, buoyed by the unexpected coalition of African-American, young and progressive voters. Unlike that night, which went from tepid optimism to astounded joy, those who gathered for his victory celebration Tuesday night wore their hopes openly.

FAMU students Vince Williams and Danae Brown, waiting for the party to open its gates to the public at 7 p.m., speculated about a future presidential run for Gillum as they lingered by a student dining hall out of the way of the rain.

“I think that’s what would be next,” Brown said, adding she was eager for an Andrew Gillum win to bring “positive attention” to the school. Nearby, volunteers passed around a cellphone displaying a CNN article saying its projections showed a Gillum victory.

But after the last polls closed in the Panhandle at 8 p.m. EST, the promising Gillum lead evaporated. It wouldn’t return, though Gillum campaign staff intermittently took the stage to reassure attendees they might still close the gap.

“It’s really close,” said Millie Raphael, an outreach director for the campaign. “We continue to believe in him, in us, in the power of people.”

“The night is long,” added Vincent Evans. “But we’re gonna win this thing!”

Melisandre Peterson, 40, a longtime Tallahassee resident, arrived around 8:15 p.m. and said she was increasingly anxious about the result. She blamed voter suppression tactics in various states: “If that’s the only way you can win, did you really win?”

By 10 p.m., the mood of the crowd had clearly sunk, as people checked voting numbers on their phone and looked up at the screens broadcasting MSNBC with crossed arms. Radio host Tom Joyner tried to work up the crowd with limited results.

“Let’s keep hope alive, we can still pull this off!” he shouted. A few attendees took up a few chants of “bring it home.” “Come on, let’s get some energy going! Let’s get some energy going!”

Clustered with friends and family at his home in northern Tallahassee, Gillum tweeted repeated pleas to voters to stay in line to vote as late as 10 p.m., even as DeSantis’ lead stretched past the margin that would trigger an automatic recount.

That morning, Gillum had beamed as he voted for himself as governor for the second time at a nearby church, accompanied by his wife R. Jai and his three children clad in red and white. Surrounded by a throng of state and national reporters, he had cast his campaign in national terms as a return to the “politics of decency.” He had reason to be hopeful — this time around, he was favored in the polls.. Democrats’ voting turnout had surpassed previous midterms.

“We really at every turn, in spite of all the distractions, have tried to keep voters in the state focused on what matters,” he said. “I believe that that is what is going to allow us to walk away with a win today.”

But it wouldn’t be. In his concession speech, Gillum exhorted the crowd not to give up on being involved in the political process. Those in the audience cheered at his familiar campaign lines, and booed briefly when Gillum said he had called DeSantis to congratulate him.

“We have a choice to make tomorrow morning,” Gillum said, as his running mate Chris King looked red-eyed by his side. “Are we going to wake up tomorrow and bask in sorrow and defeat? Or are we going to reassert ourselves to the mission at hand?”

“I sincerely regret I could not bring it home to you,” he told the crowd. “I believe that ultimately we will be victorious.”

The crowd cheered one last time, though some were already leaving. Gillum waved one last time at the television cameras as he hugged his wife in front of the crowd. Then, he walked off the stage as his supporters, in the mud left by the early downpour, also trudged away.

This story was originally published November 6, 2018 at 11:56 PM.