By: Ryan Woerner
Tuesday night was an exciting night for the College Democrats who were eager for a progressive candidate for governor.
Going into the primaries, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum was the favorite among UCF Democrats. However, he was not the most likely to win. Most of the polls had Congresswoman Gwen Graham winning by several points.
The polls were wrong.
Once it was clear that Gillum would win, by a slim margin, the Democratic Knights were ecstatic.
“Andrew Gillum is the clear choice for the Democrats,” President of College Democrats, Brendan Derrig said. “He is very progressive with his policies and what he as planned for Florida, he is the clear choice that Florida needs.”
Gillum was defeated Graham by a slim 2.9 percentage points, or 44,477 votes.
Many members said they were glad that Gillum won compared to the other candidates.
“Gillum is a breath of fresh air that Florida needs, he cares about families and the average Floridian,” members of the College of Democrats said.
Gillum’s victory sets up an election that will have national implications. As previously reported, Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Gillum weeks ago during a rally at the CFE Arena.
Sanders’ endorsement of Gillum and President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Ron DeSantis has brought national attention to Florida’s governor race.
According to the latest Real Clear Politics poll, DeSantis has a slight edge over Gillum in a head-head-race. This poll was taken in late July.
Some of the other notable people coming out of the primaries are Bill Nelson in the U.S. Senate, Sean Shaw in as Attorney General, and District 7 winner, Stephanie Murphy.
