FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - With the election just over a week away, Florida gubernatorial candidates Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis are trying to rally and recruit voters throughout the state.
The campaign trail took Gillum to South Florida, where he made two stops on Monday and is scheduled to attend a third event.
The Tallahassee mayor’s day began at Miami Dade College, where he was introduced by his wife, R. Jai Gillum, and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
During his speech, the Democratic candidate stressed the importance of early education and environmental concerns.
“We have an opportunity to cast a new vision for the vision of the State of Florida,” Gillum said, “and not just in education, but we’ve got a chance to do that in our economy. We’ve got a chance to do that in our environment. We’ve got a chance to do that when it comes to health because when I win this race for governor, the first priority is going to be expanding Medicaid for over 800,000 of the most medically needy people in our state.”
Gillum also had a message for the college students in attendance.
“You’re gonna have a governor who believes that our students who attend our colleges and our universities ought to be able to do so without graduating under a mountain of debt,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gillum’s Republican opponent, Ron DeSantis, is spending the day in Northern Florida. Monday afternoon, he spoke at a rally in Deltona.
“My mission here today and for the rest of my campaign and into the governorship is simple: we need to protect Florida’s future for us and the next generation,” he said, “and we need to start by protecting Florida’s economic momentum.”
Gillum’s second campaign stop was a rally held at the African American Research Library in Fort Lauderdale with former Attorney General Eric Holder in attendance. Gillum urged about 150 cheering supporters to take advantage of early voting.
“We have to get out there and vote like our lives depend on it,” he said. “Why? Because our lives do depend on who the next governor is of the great State of Florida.
In the weeks leading to the Nov. 6 midterm elections, DeSantis said he plans to keep pushing forward with what Florida Gov. Rick Scott has accomplished in the past eight years.
“Governor Scott deserves a lot of credit for what he did to attract jobs to Florida, to grow jobs for Florida,” he said.
At the Deltona rally, the Republican candidate repeated his promise to not raise taxes.
“I’m happy to say that I’m the only candidate of the two of us running who is not going to raise your taxes,” he said.
Gillum’s third campaign appearance on Monday is set to take place in Tamarac.
Former President Barack Obama is expected to be in the Sunshine State to campaign for Gillum. President Donald Trump has already endorsed DeSantis.
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