You know what I loved about the Florida gubernatorial primary?

[Pacifist Patriot]

I love that I voted for Gwen Graham and woke up today delighted that, although another candidate won, he is someone I can support gladly. We had a quality slate of contenders for the nomination. It was phenomenal having to make a tough choice because I would have been happy with pretty much anyone. The Democrats ran an excellent primary campaign which I think speaks volumes to what we can do against DeSantis in the general.

I am not just cautiously optimistic this time, I am thoroughly optimistic. We can turn The People's House of Florida blue!

[HAB911]

1. Exactly my story!

Time to get it on

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. I just backed this up with a donation to Gillum's campaign.

I don't have a lot of free time and almost every joint in my body seems to be in open rebellion these days, but I am actively volunteering for two campaigns this year. A school board race and now a gubernatorial one. We can do this!

[HAB911]

7. Plan to donate today

[NCTraveler]

2. +1

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11065420

[demmiblue]

3. K&R

[dubyadiprecession]

4. Steve kornacki said last night..

That Gillum will drive up turnout to help Nelson. Currently, Nelson is struggling against Scott.

[questionseverything]

45. that is a huge point...gillums grassroots campaign needs to drag nelson along

we cant afford to lose any dem senators

[FM123]

6. I feel optimistic too! We are going to turn Florida blue!

[SunSeeker]

8. God I hope so.

I have a Trump supporting father-in-law who lives in Florida and his head would explode if that happened. LOL

[zipplewrath]

36. Probably our only hope

Nelson, I fear, is going to need alot of help.

[AllyCat]

9. We had that in Wisconsin this month too

People literally were making up their minds as they went to vote because we had several fantastic candidates. Isn’t that a great “problem” to have?

Onward Florida!

[jayschool2013]

10. First up

Turn your waters blue. ICK.

[True Blue American]

25. Sure beats the green

The waters are now.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

11. Same. nt

[FakeNoose]

12. Good luck to all Florida Democrats

Congrats to the Dem winners and "thank you" for a good race!

[George II]

13. Seconds after the race was called, Gwen Graham put this out:

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. Love it!

[workinclasszero]

17. Beautiful!

[Geechie]

18. YES!

That's one of the things I like best about this primary, besides the fact that Gillum won.

[yardwork]

32. THAT is how we will win elections!

[olegramps]

15. DeSantis' positions on a number of issues, i.e. Medicare, Taxes, SS etc. are bizarre.

He even proposed a 27% sales tax. The tax would universal in application such as tax on the purchase of a home. That is insane. It going to be difficult, but possibly doable. The legislature, however, will remain under the control of the Republicans.

[zipplewrath]

37. Well, yes, but

He proposed a 20+% sales tax, and removal of all other taxes, including property, gas, alcohol, cigarettes...

I'm not a fan but his opponent in the primary vastly misrepresented DeSantis' proposal on this.

[olegramps]

40. His tax would destroy the poor and make houses out of reach. How do you exaggerate that?

He wants to remove the property tax because it is based on home value. His multimillionaire buddies would just love not being taxed on their humongous mansions. The fairest would to have a state income tax. This would reduce property taxes for the working class and make the rich pay their share. Something they also oppose. There is not thing about that Trump suck ass bastard that I find acceptable. He is a racist just like the misanthrope he worships.

[zipplewrath]

42. I don't disagree

I find consumer based taxes to be horribly regressive. Income taxes are a start. Capital Gains need to be taxed as well. The really hard part is that "wealth" as oppose to "income" is what really needs to be "taxed". It's just really hard to do. The easiest time to tax something is when a transaction occurs. That can be a paycheck, a purchase, a dividend payment, et cetera. It would also help tremendously if the government would collect "royalties" on all of the assets that companies use. We should be getting a cut of the oil pumped out, the gold, mined, and the cattle grazed. And I mean a meaningful cut, not some token payment. We should also be getting compensated for the use of things like the airwaves.

[workinclasszero]

16. GOTV Florida democrats!

The choice is so stark in Florida!

Trump's hand picked cultist for the billionaire swamp class or a man of and for the PEOPLE!

[Uncle Joe]

19. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Pacifist Patriot.

[handmade34]

20. Please do!

[yallerdawg]

21. My only question is...

how does Florida Democratic Primary NOT have a runoff when neither of the top two vote-getters hit 50% + 1?

2 out of 3 voting Democrats did NOT vote for Gillum.

Our lingering experience from 2016 suggests voters hold onto resentments, and this kind of "anomaly" can have an effect up and down the ticket.

[George II]

34. This year's primary is different. Gwen Graham has enthusiastically endorsed and will support..

..Andrew Gillum. That is very different from what we saw two years ago.

[mcar]

39. Yes! She conceded and fully endorsed Gillum

This is how we win elections!

[FSogol]

22. That's one of the differences between the Democrats and the Repubs. We have a abundance of honest,

capable candidates and they have a collection of racist, griftters, and oddballs.

[Pacifist Patriot]

26. I'm not sure I'd go that far.

I am having a sincere personal struggle over a local Dem candidate for a county office. I know too much about the person and we're hurting for lack of quality candidates down ballot. I'm not saying don't vote for Dems or abstain from voting, but I wish I could say the same up and down the ballot that I've said of the gubernatorial candidates. We're getting there. More and more each election cycle, but it can be a real struggle in some areas.

[murielm99]

44. Don't despair.

This happens every once in awhile. Eight years ago, I nearly left a state candidate's oval blank.

There is another one this year. I know where too many bodies are buried. Also, the guy disrespected me and the work I do for Democrats. He will get my vote. He will not get any more money, or a sign in the yard. I won't wear one of his shirts, or put a sticker in my car or window.

I have to say the incumbent (R) is much, much worse.

We are all flawed. We can't demand perfection from the candidates if we are not perfect.

[iscooterliberally]

23. We voted for Andrew Gillum in our house.

I didn't think he would win, but he was my favorite so I went for it. I was pleasantly surprised this morning! Like you, I would have been happy to back whoever won the primary. It's really nice to have a real opportunity to vote for an actual Democrat and not some wishy washy, used to be a republican candidate. I really hope that Gillum ends up being our next governor.

Edited to add this link:
https://andrewgillum.com/

I just donated and you can too!

[countryken]

24. How to get people engaged

I too voted Graham but fully support Gillum. He is progressive enough to generate more interest and excitement. I'm all in for Gillum. Retaining Nelson is important. He's not my favorite Senator, but he's infinitely more acceptable than the alternative at this point.

I have been disappointed with the track record of the Florida Democratic party. I've done phone banking and I don't think I've ever added more than a handful of votes to the total after hours on the phone.

Personal engagement door to door GOTV work is more effective.

Driving folks to the polls and doing poll watching are worthwhile.

However, if the FlaDems would rent public parks and host events with free music and hot dogs while providing speakers to educate those who are there for the music and the dogs, we can get people excited and we can motivate people to vote. I would suggest starting this as soon as possible. I'll volunteer to work these events and procure the music in Jacksonville...

Any FlaDem officials reading this? Your thoughts?

[geardaddy]

27. That's how I felt about the Minnesota gubernatorial primary

and the Congressional District primary this month.

[underthematrix]

28. Yessss! This is how you talk when you got your eyes on the prize and you

wanna win.

[Loge23]

29. Surprising but most welcome outcome!

I voted for Gillum two weeks ago - a last minute (at the time) choice based on the candidate I most identified with politically.
I was resigned to his loss, figuring my candidates almost never win anymore in FLorida.
What a surprise last night as the results rolled in! I had thought this would be between Levine and Graham. My second choice would have been for Chris King, another young dynamic Dem.
I agree we had a good slate, except for Green who ill-advisedly went negative early in the campaign.
It'll be tough - the state is filled with brain-atrophied retirees and blue-collar workers who consistently vote against their interests.
But we can win if we get the vote out and Andrew is able to put forth a positive vision for our state.
After 20 years of repunk domination, our state is turning into an environmental mess, with charter schools sapping our public education funding, and grifters like Rick Scott taking everything that's not nailed down. Scott infamously passed on the sugar land buy, setting back the Lake Okeechobee water release program by decades. He also turned down federal high-speed rail funds in favor of the absurd privatized Brightline venture which wants to run high-speed rail directly, without stopping, through thriving downtown communities.
...and don't even get me started on Scott's Medicare block.
Proud of my wife who works hard for the local Democratic Women's Club!

[radical noodle]

31. It will be a hard campaign

DeSantis is as nasty as trump.

[radical noodle]

30. Same here

My feelings exactly!

[lagomorph777]

33. Same way I felt in a recent crowded primary.

Dems have an abundance of talent this year!

But of course we always do.

[iluvtennis]

35. I'm a Californian and I just donated to Gillum - turn it Blue, turn it blue. nt

[mcar]

38. Great OP!

I voted for Gillum but would happily have supported Graham or Levine. It was a great primary, decided by Democratic voters.

Kudos to Graham for her quick and classy support of Gillum.

I believe that we will win!

[olegramps]

41. The worst Democratic candidate is better than the best Republican for any office.

The Republicans have taught me to despise them. Not one of them is worth a tinker's dam.

[Awsi Dooger]

43. I love that we have a chance to flip the energy level

Democrats had more energy and structure than Republicans in Nevada when I moved away from Henderson nearly a decade ago. But when I relocated to Miami it was notably the reverse and has remained the reverse.

I can't tell you how demoralizing it is to have waves of Republican canvassers going door to door in my Miami neighborhood every cycle, with nothing of the same from Democrats.

I voted for Graham after considering Gillum. Today I am encouraged by this opportunity to alter the dynamic. Graham might have won in standard fashion by earning enough swing voters above the more radical nominee from the other side. But that would have done nothing to shift the voter rolls and voter tendencies going forward.

This Gillum energy complimenting Nelson could be a great boost to adjusting the landscape in a meaningful way. For every 100 additional African Americans who turn out, that figures to be something like +84 net on our side, as in 92-8. The other side would need to find 250 extra white voters to match that net, given the current percentages of whites favoring the Republican candidate along 67-33 lines.

[Awsi Dooger]

46. Good discussion now on MSNBC

Marc Caputo the Florida elections specialist on with Chuck Todd.

Emphasizing that Floridians have attempted 5 consecutive middle of the road candidates and it was time for something bold

[Awsi Dooger]

47. "Go Canes"

I loved that from Gillum to lead off his interview with Chuck Todd today. Still happening right now.

Todd is from Miami and a huge Canes fan.

Gillum has great instincts. That will translate if he becomes more well known. This monkey comment actually boosts his name recognition immensely, as Caputo pointed out on this program.

[voteearlyvoteoften]

48. Me too

Finally got it together and donated to Nelson and Gillum today. Go Blue

[mac2766]

49. My pick. I'm stunned.

I voted for Andrew Gillum in the primary. I have to say that I absolutely considered him a long-shot. Well, at the time that I placed my vote, so did everyone else. I vote absentee/early. I am so happy that he won the nomination. Go Andrew!!!!

[Blue_true]

50. I voted for Graham also, but word for word, I feel the same as you do. nt

[ProudProgressiveNow]

51. KR NT

[jovibennett]

52. I voted for for him

I am stunned he won but so glad he did. I live in Martin county, Florida where the water quality has been all over the news. We can't even get in the water and it smells terrible to eve be around it. We need a people in office that will take on big sugar and change the water flow. Not pad their pocket with money from them. That means Scott needs to go!! He can't not become our senator. It still amazes me that a man who defrauded the gov't of tens of millions of dollars became our gov. for 2 terms!! Come on FL lets do this!!

[Cha]

53. And, Gwen Graham is Graciously, Enthusiastically

on Board!

I'm really impressed with her about this quick support of hers... just like I was about Hillary in 2008.

Good on you, Pacific Patriot

[Nitram]

54. Yes!