Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum Could Become Florida’s Next Governor

It was past 9 p.m. last night when the Associated Press called Florida’s Democratic primary for Andrew Gillum, the first-term mayor of Tallahassee. Gillum, who just turned 39, became his party’s nominee for governor in dramatic fashion, scoring a narrow victory over four other candidates to face Republican Ron DeSantis in the general election.

This was not supposed to happen. For months, it seemed that only Gillum himself thought he had any shot at all, but his relentless optimism animated a campaign staff comprised mostly of young volunteers. Progressive activists saw in him the first real opportunity for a new generation to take the reins of power for themselves, while the Democratic establishment saw a chance not only to reclaim a state that had traditionally been theirs until 1998, but to deal a major symbolic blow to President Trump, whose endorsement of DeSantis proved decisive.