The Story:
In Florida on Tuesday, August 28, the Democratic Party gave an unexpected primary win in the Governor’s race to Andrew Gillum, who had run to the left of former Rep. Gwen Graham. Gillum will now compete with the Republican nominee, Ron DeSantis, in the general election.
The Background:
Ms Graham is the daughter of Bob Graham, who was the state’s Governor (1979-1987) and Senator (1987-2005). She is the granddaughter of Cap Graham, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party’s nomination for Governor back in 1944.
The Graham family is generally considered politically moderate. For three of the eight years when Bob Graham was Governor, accounting giant Grant Thornton labelled Florida as the one state in the nation with the best business climate.
Gillum, on the other hand, has the support of Senator Bernie Sanders (I – Vt) and is running on a platform that includes a $15 an hour minimum wage and a single payer health care system. Gillum’s defeat of Graham was a stunner, unanticipated by the polls.
The Thing to Know:
Florida is a perpetual ‘swing state’ in US politics. Trump defeated Clinton there two years ago but by a very slim margin (49.0% to 47.2% with the remainder going to third party candidates). The match-up of Gillum and DeSantis will be closely watched.
