Black Twitter proudly saluted Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum for his amazing Florida governor campaign against the GOP’s Ron DeSantis, who blew his racist dog whistle to rally his supporters from the first day of the competition.
SEE ALSO: Andrew Gillum Lost Florida Election Because Of Racism, Democrats Say
Gillum conceded defeat on Saturday, ending a battle for the governorship that continued more than a week after Election Day.
After making an initial concession on Nov. 6, the Tallahassee mayor took it back as the tight race for governor went to a machine recount.
By Thursday, it became evident that the race was finally over when the recount moved just one vote from the DeSantis column over to Gillum’s, CNN reported. This ends—for now—his bid to become Florida’s first African-American governor.
“I want to congratulate @RonDeSantisFL on becoming the next Governor of the great state of Florida. My wife R. Jai and I could not be prouder of the way we ran this race. We could not be more thankful to my running mate, @ChrisKingFL and his wife Kristen,” Gillum tweeted.
It didn’t take long during the campaign for the Trump-backed candidate to fire off a racist attack against Gillum. In August, DeSantis, appearing on Fox News, warned Florida not to “monkey this up” by electing Gillum. His racist dog whistle came less than 24 hours after the two candidates won their party’s nomination in the Florida primary election.
“You know, he is an articulate spokesman for those far-left views and he’s a charismatic candidate. The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state. That is not going to work. That’s not going to be good for Florida,” said DeSantis, who has a long history of associating with white supremacists.
Folks in the African-American community applauded Gillum. He was largely unknown before this race but at age 39 has become a nationally known political figure with a bright future.
Black Twitter Congratulates Andrew Gillum For Running A Classy Campaign Against A Racist was originally published on newsone.com
1. NAACP
We celebrate you @AndrewGillum — you are a trailblazer and inspiration to us all. #NAACP pic.twitter.com/72B4OFFtwT
— NAACP (@NAACP) November 18, 2018
2. Sen. Cory Booker
Thank you @AndrewGillum for leading an extraordinary, inspiring campaign. You captured our moral imagination and called on us to remember that in Florida and our nation, great leaders don’t divide or demean but seek to unite and elevate all. https://t.co/fpFntxKxnS
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) November 17, 2018
3. Rev. Jesse Jackson
.@AndrewGillum is a winner.
— Rev Jesse Jackson Sr (@RevJJackson) November 18, 2018
Every new voter, every new, elected official and every hope raised is helping to transform southern national politics. #KeepHopeAlive! https://t.co/tuPBHXZ97j
4. Keith Boykin
Thank you Andrew Gillum for running an honorable, substantive, progressive campaign. https://t.co/EMLDGZQyhg
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 17, 2018
5. Sen. Kamala Harris
.@AndrewGillum’s campaign inspired millions of people not just in Florida but across the country to create change in their communities. I know we haven’t seen the last of him. pic.twitter.com/TcJ6dnNJP0
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 18, 2018
6. Karine Jean-Pierre
Thank you, @AndrewGillum https://t.co/7X3a1UoZjA
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) November 17, 2018
7. Jamil Smith
Andrew Gillum ran his race. For Democrats and Republicans alike, there is so much to learn from his candidacy. This is what I wrote about him for @RSPolitics. https://t.co/22tf6t3mQ6 https://t.co/3RK9uS1oEg
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) November 18, 2018
8. Rashad Robinson
I’ve known @AndrewGillum for some time now. Florida is missing out on the real deal. At every opportunity, he fought to include those who had never been included before, and called out his opponent’s racist tactics for what they were. (1/3) https://t.co/TGuLCAMn0K
— Rashad Robinson (@rashadrobinson) November 17, 2018
9. April Reign
Both @AndrewGillum and @staceyabrams ran pitch perfect campaigns. Eminently qualified, reached out throughout their respective states, more than held their own in debates with their challengers. The numbers that turned out to vote for them rivaled presidential years. So...
— April (@ReignOfApril) November 17, 2018
10. Bishop Talbert Swan
.@RonDeSantisFL accepted speaking engagements to events sponsored by known white supremacists organizations
— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) November 18, 2018
He refused to return a donation to a racist that called @BarackObama a ‘muslim n*gger”
He referred to @AndrewGillum as a monkey
53% of white women still voted for him.