Andrew Gillum Pulled Off the Upset of a Lifetime. Now Comes the Hard Part.

Gillum may now be facing the hard part, but Desantis past will help him. Desantis is a (now former) admin of a racist facebook group. He resigned that role as soon as the media started reporting his role. yep. The hard time may be coming but when your online history shows you support language, lies and actions that are racist, you are then without a doubt a racist yourself

I am a Miami native involved in local politics as a volunteer, and while I met Mr. Gillum several times while he was campaigning, I did not think he would win because of the money. However, I voted for him, told my friends to vote for him, and when we won, it did not feel real. Mr. Gillum can win over people of Florida because he is so dynamic, and his volunteer base is enthusiastic. After losing close elections because of low turnout in Miami, why not be bold? Why not elect someone who shares our values? Its time for a change, and Mr. Gillum is a step in the right direction.

Andrew Gillum sounds impressive. And he emphasizes that the FBI has told him he's not in their cross-hairs, and that he's cooperating fully with the FBI. Still, I'm not entirely sure he is cooperating as much as he should. During his NYC trip, for example, is it really plausible that he doesn't remember whether he attended a New York Mets game or "Hamilton?" Perhaps he didn't attend either, or attended one or both and paid for his own tickets, but is it plausible that he doesn't even remember whether he was there? I recognize that many Mets games are best forgotten as quickly as possible, but I still think I'd remember being at one. And I'd certainly remember whether I'd ever seen "Hamilton."

Why people are so negative when someone says "you deserve free education, you deserve better salary, you deserve better quality of life, you deserve a cleaner environment, you deserve better education, you deserve more as American and human being"? It sounds like heaven, specially in a country which have most billionaires than any other country. Why so worry about where the money is going to come from when we have people making millions of dollars, literally, a day? This country can pay for all that Mr Gillum and other candidates are saying. Instead of fighting against for what we deserve, we worry where the money is going to come from, that the state will go bankrupt.. You cannot have it both ways with some people. The Republican candidate, his only attribute is that he is a follower of Trump, nothing else.. I just hope Mr Gillum focus the remaining time before election, on convincing people that their vote does matter.. A lot of people don't even remember when the election day is, so if he focus on that and forget about the Republican candidate, he might have a shot. Good luck!

If I had the time I'd count how many times $ was mentioned in this article. Needing oodles and oodles of money to run for office with any hope of winning is considered so obvious that it's totally unquestioned. Why? Why is democracy just more big business?

I am an Independent who most often votes for Democrats. I voted twice for Barack Obama and canvassed for him in 2008. In 2016 I was a fervent Bernie Sanders supporter and rang doorbells for him in the primary. I was heartbroken when he lost. I don’t live in Florida so the gubernatorial primary was of only passing interest to me, though my mother does live the in the state as do thousands of transplanted NY metro area voters. I read this article with great interest to learn more about the winner of the Democratic primary, in part, admittedly, when I heard that Bernie Sanders endorsed him. I was struck by what I perceive is a subtle bias in your reporting when you cite Tom Steyer’s huge $ contribution without any notation of him being a part of the active left politically, when in contrast, any mention of the Koch brothers (whom I abhor) always mentions their conservative politics. Being fair and truthful works both ways.

Billionaires own the United States politicians. Even the so-called “progressives” are beholden to the billionaire class: “Late Thursday, Tom Steyer's NextGen America announced that it's endorsing Gillum and plunging $1 million into his campaign, including a $500,000 donation from Steyer to Gillum's political committee, Forward Florida.” http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/06/28/in-major-boost-... “Andrew Gillum gets another $650,000 from billionaire donors Soros, Steyer” https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/08/23/andrew-gillum-... Voters in this country are given the illusion of choice: Billionaire Koch Brothers versus Billionaire Financiers Steyer/Soros. Either way…the billionaires win.

The Upset of a Lifetime? How long is a lifetime at The Times? It must not be very long. Or, maybe the headline writer was referring to the lifetime of a housefly. The current mayor of NYC pulled off the upset of a lifetime. The #4 Democrat in the House got whacked in the upset of a lifetime. A sleazy guy from Queens pulled off the upset of a lifetime two years ago. Remember President Dewey? Of course not. These upsets of a lifetime are happening at an alarming rate. I suspect there will be several more upsets of a lifetime in the next two months. If the blue wave doesn't wash over the House, that would be the real upset of a lifetime. Except for the next one.

Turnout will be key. In his column today, David Leonhardt states that "voting is time-consuming and inconvenient." Not so. Voting by mail is easy and takes very little time. Floridians can receive a mail-in ballot by following instructions at this website: https://dos.myflorida.com/elections/for-voters/voting/vote-by-mail/

I'm retired and on a fixed income, but I just made a recurring donation to Gillum. I am considering making a $.10 donation to his opponent - just to cause problems for him. He's disgusting, just like his buddy Trump.

I am a Florida voter. I used to be an independent voter, but after the really bad reality show going on in the White House and the Republicans having lost their souls, I registered as a democrat a little while ago. There is no way I would ever again vote for any republican candidate. Having said that, I did vote for Gwen Graham in the primary election because I thought she was the "safer" choice, but I am now 100% behind Andrew Gillum. I do like his politics, and I will vote and donate generously to keep a corrupt and racist Trump supporter out of office. The current governor, another Trump supporter, has run Florida's environment into the ground, he has been horrible news for the poor, women, the old and infirm, and education. Rick Scott has done so much damage to Florida, we can honestly not afford another one like him.

What is so amazing about a progressive candidate winning an election? Just because the Florida Democratic Party has been putting forth candidates for over 20 years, who have just switched from being elected Republican office holders and loosing time and again to 'real' Republicans? The facts are that across the country, the party of Republican-light A.K.A. 3rd-way Democrats hasn't offered any program or plan that resonates with the majority of U.S. citizens. So here comes an actual progressive, one who is echoing the themes Sen. Sanders has based his crusade upon and guess what, the voters the F-Dems wanted to stay away, came to the polls and voted. Imagine that?

I don’t live in Florida, nor do I know anything of Andrew Gillum or the investigation into city hall of Tallahassee where he is/was mayor, or about his character or whether he is corrupt or not. I’m pretty sure he is corrupt though because I just firmly believe 99.9% of those in government are corrupt in some way or another. But to use the phrase “Monkey It Up” would have made me (a 50 year old white male from rural Michigan) believe it was a definite racist innuendo, and without reading the implication of it being so, that was the first thing to come to my mind...implying he is a monkey. He may have as well have said, ni**er it up. And that is the reason I don’t think Andrew Gillum stands a chance of winning the governorship of Florida. The vast majority of the white citizens of any southern state are racist whether they admit it or not, the same rings true for every other race. Most Blacks, Latinos and Asians are all racist as well. It would be nice to have a black progressive democrat as governor of Florida but it looks like another trump clone/clown will be leading the state down the road to destruction. And in a few years after Florida citizens elected this republican into office you will see the ecosystem of Florida coming apart twice as fast as it already is and a even larger division of people.

Let's pray hard and send strong thoughts to Mr. Gillum for a massive win in November. We need to send a strong message to Washington - and to the nation - and the world. Thanks.

I wish Gillum good luck. But this is FL, a state where the last Democrat who won an election for governor (Lawton Chiles, 1994) was a very well liked good ol' boy who barely squeezed past his opponent. FL demographics haven't changed much since (mostly white) and many will vote in November that didn't bother showing up in August. Gillum will likely capture the votes of other blacks and hard-core liberal folks in FL. But he has little chance to attract white folks in places like Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, the Space Coast, South FL, Southwest FL...still encompassing the state's majority. I hope that post-November and based on outcomes that occur, the Democratic party carefully assesses what's the best path forward to capture the hearts, minds (and votes) of mainstream America in 2020, and allow the country to move beyond Trump.

Those of us who understand the importance of Gillum’s victory should all send him an any amount donation regardless of where we live! Grassroots campaigns win, (see Obama x2 ) . This togetherness is what we need to do to stop the GOP stranglehold. Go Gillum!

Gillum's unexpected victory speaks volumes about the current state of flux in the Democratic Party. Voters were inspired to vote in higher numbers and among groups generally expected to be no-shows. But then, to the obvious dismay of party regulars and the surprise of pollsters and pundits something happened. Excitement kicked in, and excitement is what propelled two candidates into the public consciousness and one into the White House in 2016. Remember what those energized crowds looked like and sounded like when Trump and Sanders came to town? Whether Gillum's strategies work well enough to propel him to victory remains to be seen. But cutting-edge outreach to the voters who are looking for change and inclusion is generating excitement and votes. The DNC and its inbred stalwarts need to think deeper and support new candidates while ignoring the wise counsel of conservatives like Jim Davis and his grousing “Gwen’s (Graham) path was the more conventional path in Florida." The future of the party rests with younger candidates who are fearless and yes, more exciting than the family members of previous office holders.

Finally, a candidate I am excited about in the state of Florida. I'm about to make my first political donation.

Andrew Gillum has my whole-hearted support for Governor of Florida because I whole-heartedly support his issues. I am 76, white, and regularly vote in every election -- local, state and national --definitely not the demographic (“young, non-white, non-voters”) his campaign successfully targeted in Tuesday’s primary race.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, was murdered in Memphis while fighting the blsck working class. On the eve of the Washington D.C. Poor People's Campaign where he hoped to unite the black and white working class along common socioeconomic political and educational lines instead of dividing them across color aka race lines. But Nixon, Reagan and Bush united white urban ethnics and rural mountain and Dixie whites in an homage to Confederate States of America Dixie that culminated in Donald Trump. See "Dog-Whistle Politics : How Coded Racial Appeals Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class " by Ian Haney Lopez

Now comes the REAL part. If Rick Scott can be elected Governor, anything can happen. It's time, FLORIDA. Do you want another criminal, another self dealing Rich guy that doesn't have a clue how MOST people live ?? Rick Scott bought his way into office. Now, he's trying the same thing for the Senate. Don't fall for it. VOTE Democratic, straight ticket.

Gillum is not far left. The far-right has moved to such extremes that anybody to the center-left looks extreme in comparison. However, I would hope that he runs on his positions, which are overall excellent, rather than race. Also, I really don't want to hear the term Abolish ICE from any candidate. Some structure needs to be in place. However, restructuring ICE as a more efficient but more compassionate organization needs to be a priority. I congratulate Mayor Gillum and wish him every success. He seems like not only a smart person but also a wise one. May his wisdom carry him into the State House.

I like Gillum but I feel like his campaign captures the incredulous attitudes of those who may want many far left programs enacted, but are deeply skeptical of how it will all be paid for. In Florida, where Mr. Gillum is running, there's an easy way to raise money to pay for his programs: instating a state income tax targeted at the wealthy. There are many wealthy people in Florida who are there to take advantage of the favorable tax climate. Time to change that and raise money for programs aimed at the lower and middle classes. But rest assured Gillum will propose no such thing.