DeSantis, Gillum Cast Ballots After Bitter Battle for Florida Governor

What to Know

• Florida voters will be choosing between two very distinct visions for the state in the governor’s race Tuesday

• Though they're nearly the same age - Andrew Gillum is 39, Ron DeSantis 40 - the two candidates couldn't be more different

Florida voters will be choosing between two very distinct visions for the state in the governor’s race Tuesday, which pits a progressive Democrat against a Donald Trump-backed Republican in one of the most divisive races of 2018.

Both candidates - Tallahassee Mayor and Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum along with former U.S. Rep. GOP nominee Ron DeSantis - headed to the polls in the morning to cast their ballots ahead of a day full of waiting to find out which one will get the state's top job.

"This has been a long journey, 21 months moving across the state of Florida, talking to everybody that we can meet," Gillum told NBC's Kerry Sanders after voting. "But that’s okay because what I want folks over there to know, including in the deepest red areas is that I want to be their governor too."

"I think we worked really hard," DeSantis said after voting near his home outside of Jacksonville. "I think we did as much as could be done and I'm happy with letting the chips fall where they may."

A win by Gillum would make him Florida's first black governor, no small feat in the swing state that backed Trump in the 2016 presidential race and hasn't elected a Democratic governor since Lawton Chiles was reelected in 1994. A victory for DeSantis could be seen by many as a victory for Trump, who helped catapult DeSantis to a primary win with his endorsement earlier this year.

"Us winning tonight