Five days before Election Day, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum traveled all the way to Key West, where he was welcomed in a city that turned blue while the rest of the county went red in the 2016 election.
He gave his standard stump speech at a beachside rally on Thursday. Part of that was characterizing his Republican opponent, Ron DeSantis, as not presenting a vision for Florida.
“He can’t get my name out of his mouth quick enough to talk about what it is he wants to do for the people of Florida,” Gillum told several hundred people gathered for a rally on Higgs Beach at the Salute! on the Beach restaurant.
DeSantis, who has the support of President Donald Trump, is Trump’s “acolyte,” Gillum said.
“They were just together last night on Halloween, and boy, were the tricks in full effect,” Gillum told the crowd. “It is discomforting to put it mildly. This is the brand of politics they’re trying to usher in.”
In response, DeSantis’ communications director Stephen Lawson said, “We reject this premise completely. Ron DeSantis has spent the entire campaign laying out a positive vision for Florida. Andrew Gillum is desperately trying to deflect from his record of crime, corruption, and a career in politics that involves gifts from lobbyists and an ongoing FBI investigation.”
The Key West crowd, and many local elected leaders, cheered on Gillum.
“Are you ready for a blue wave in Florida?” City Commissioner Clayton Lopez asked the crowd, before Gillum took the stage..
Gillum said environmental peril is the result of the past 20 years of state policies favoring some of the biggest polluters.
“We can guarantee
