By J.C. Bruce
The lineup for the midterm governor’s race is now complete as both the Democratic and Republican candidates have picked their running mates.
Democratic nominee David Jolly was out of the gate early with his choice—Gwen Graham—a former member of Congress who also campaigned to be the Democrats’ gubernatorial candidate in 2018 but lost to former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, who, in turn, lost to Ron DeSantis by less than a percentage point.
Graham brings a familiar name to Jolly’s ticket, especially for longtime Floridians, as her dad, Bob Graham, was a U.S. senator and the 38th governor of the state.
Like Jolly, she has a reputation as a political moderate. While Graham is a lifelong Democrat, she voted against Nancy Pelosi for Speaker in 2015, and at that time was ranked the ninth-most bipartisan member of the U.S. House.
Jolly is also a former member of Congress. He was a Republican at the time, but abandoned the G.O.P in 2018 as he grew critical of the party’s direction under Donald Trump.
The Republican nominee for governor, Byron Donalds, is a polar opposite in that regard, who enjoys Trump’s endorsement and says of himself:
“I am everything the fake news media tells you doesn’t exist. A strong Trump supporting, gun owning, liberty loving, pro-life, politically incorrect black man.”
This politically incorrect man has now picked his running mate, Bryan Avila, a state senator from Hialeah who, among his legislative accomplishments, includes his sponsorship of the Stop WOKE Act.
The whole point of lieutenant governor picks in Florida is to broaden the gubernatorial candidate’s potential voting base.
In Jolly’s case, he went mainstream moderate, white, and female.
Donalds went MAGA, Hispanic, and male.
Beyond that, the lieutenant governorship in Florida is largely a ceremonial post unlike the position in a few other states. In Texas, for instance, the lieutenant governor is also the president of the Texas Senate. In Florida, he or she is just a spare part, a fill-in should something happen to the governor.
Given that, does either choice really matter? Historically, not so much, but we’ll see if it makes a difference in this year’s election.
You can learn more about both of these candidates, their bios, political accomplishments, education and other background information on their Wikipedia pages:
So, here’s a question for you:
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J.C. Bruce
Oh dear me….I’ve had enough with MAGA Republicans.
EVERYTHING helps at this point. Ger Graham out there - she's pretty, vivacious, and an insider to politics (not sure I am with her on voting against Pelosi, but I'll overlook!).
BTW J.C. - keep on keeping us on top of Florida! With regards to Ms. Mingo....(why does she use Miss? Doesn't she know there's a war going on?)