Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum shocks Democratic rivals, wins nomination for governor
By Steve Bousquet
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
August 28, 2018 09:32 PM
Updated 5 minutes ago
TALLAHASSEE
Andrew Gillum rode a late surge of African-American voters to an upset victory in the Democratic primary Tuesday and an historic opportunity to become the first black governor in Florida history.
The Associated Press called the race for Gillum shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday with Gillum holding a two-point lead over Gwen Graham that amounted to about 25,000 votes. Gillum was beating Graham by about a 2-to-1 margin in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The outcome delighted a raucous crowd that gathered in Tallahassee to celebrate Gillum’s victory.
Despite being vastly outspent by his rivals, the charismatic and unabashedly liberal Gillum built a devoted following of progressives, many of them young and African-American, with his campaign message of social justice and lifting up poor people and appealing to Florida’s growing diversity.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article217456845.html