Four Takeaways From the DeSantis-Crist Debate in Florida’s Governor Race
While many Democratic activists are preoccupied with the fact that Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is almost certainly going to lose the Democratic primary, there remain a handful of candidates who have a shot at defeating Republican Governor Rick Scott, and who may be able to do so in the general election where it will be difficult for the Democratic nominee to come up with a winning message.
The list of candidates with a shot of beating Scott is shorter than you might think. While the campaign is over, former Tallahassee Mayor Chris Seelbach is still holding out hope for an upset in the Democratic primary.
His chances are slim, but we will keep an eye on him until the race is over, and then we will evaluate his chances in the general election.
But the other candidates with a chance of beating Scott are even more interesting.
The most interesting thing about them all is that as of right now it doesn’t seem that they have any path to victory at this stage.
The first is St. Lucie County Commissioner Rick Kriseman, a fellow with strong ties to Andrew Gillum, and who is also running on a progressive platform.
What is interesting, is that the same thing happened with Scott, where Democrats had a candidate who was almost certain to easily beat him, but a group of Republicans with a chance of beating him have turned things around, and have made serious inroads, and are now in the thick of the race.
This candidate is Andrew Gillum
Andrew Gillum is not the only Democratic candidate with a chance of beating the incumbent governor, and he is not even the first, but the one who has made the most progress in terms of turning things around.
It is worth pointing out that while the most prominent Democrat with a shot of beating Scott is not Andrew Gillum, but Rick Kriseman, the fact that he is running on a platform of defeating Scott will make him extremely difficult for the incumbent governor to defeat.
Also, the fact that he is running as a progressive will make it extremely difficult for Scott to respond to his campaign, and could be difficult for it to be successful, especially if Gillum can turn the campaign around.
So far, Gillum has made significant gains, which has allowed him to continue his campaign, and to keep him above the threshold of 50% of