Former Tallahassee Mayor and Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum is on speed dial for several 2020 presidential candidates including Elizabeth Warren, sparking buzz that he may be her pick for vice president.
Two sources told the Daily Beast that talks between Warren and Gillum resemble the kind of courtship that happens when a leading presidential candidate is exploring potential vice presidential contenders.
A Warren campaign official denied the rumor, telling the Daily Beast, “that is baseless and not at all true.”
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 20: Andrew Gillum
Jamarlin talks to Andrew Gillum, former mayor of Tallahassee and leading Democratic candidate for Florida governor. They discuss the DNC taking the Black vote for granted, its silence on the killing of 60 Palestinian protestors, and whether big tech and Silicon Valley elites can be regulated at the state level.
Even before Florida voters cast their ballot in November 2018 for Gillum, he was getting 2020 buzz, Vox reported. With 4,043,723 votes, Gillum lost to pro-Trump Republican Ron DeSantis by less than half a point. He pitched voters on a progressive platform, including Medicare-for-all, environmental protections, and criminal justice reform, picking up Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) endorsement early in the primary and building on that momentum.
In a debate leading to the midterm elections, Gillum had a mic drop moment. His slapdown of DeSantis hit with such bullseye accuracy that a clip of it went viral. “Now, I’m not calling Mr. Desantis a racist,” Gillum said. “I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist.”
One source told Daily Beast that Warren and Gillum have been in contact throughout her campaign and that there’s a “strong impression” that Gillum is a possible vice presidential contender. Florida is a critical state to win the presidency, a source close to Gillum’s political team said.
“If you’re trying to win Florida, I would be courting Andrew and that’s what’s happening,” a second source familiar with the conversations said.
Warren has overtaken former Vice President Joe Biden in four out of five recent polls, putting her at No. 1 in a RealClearPolitics average of surveys, Marketwatch reported on Oct. 8.
After Gillum lost to DeSantis, his name came up as a potential presidential candidate. He announced in March that he would not run for president but instead said he planned to register 1 million new Florida voters.
Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) have also been in touch with Gillum in recent months, according to Daily Beast. Warren recorded a video endorsement for Gillum during his race, saying, “Andrew’s the leader the Sunshine state needs.”
