Early voting for the August 18th primaries is underway, and one of the statewide office seekers officially cast her ballot in Tallahassee Thursday.
Gwen Graham is on the ticket with David Jolly, who is running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. She cast her ballot on Florida A&M University’s campus.
Graham, spoke with Florida A&M students before casting her vote.
“I'm not going to ask you who you voted for. That's not fair. But I appreciate y'all,” she said, to laughs from the students.
Graham is a former congresswoman. She is also the daughter of former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham. During her remarks to the press Thursday, she looked beyond next week’s primary, talking about what she and Jolly need to communicate on the campaign trail.
“This race is not about being a Democrat, Republican, or Independent. What it's about is the future of Florida. It's about an economy that works for all Floridians. We're happy that some people are doing really well, but everybody should have a chance to succeed in Florida,” she said.
Her appearance on FAMU’s campus comes as Republican Gubernatorial front runner Byron Donalds is positioned to be Florida’s first Black governor if elected. In recent years, other Black Republican elected officials like state Senator Corey Simon have been able to win in historically Democratic districts in part by winning over more Black voters, a group the GOP traditionally struggles with.
When asked about those trends, Graham said Florida is a diverse state and she and Jolly need a broad coalition to win.
“I ask people to look at is what does Byron Donalds stand for, what is he going to do for your life, and then what are David Jolly and Gwen Graham committed to doing for your life? And I think there's going to be a clear difference. People are fed up with the politics, they're fed up with the culture wars. They're fed up with putting special interests before they put before the people of this state,” she said.
Florida Republicans statewide hold an over million registered voter lead heading into the general election.
