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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2018)
August 29, 2018 The Skanner Page 9 News Black Candidates Win Primaries for Governor in 3 States an allegation his camp called absurd. The nomination of three Black major-party candidates for governor ties the mark set in 2006, when there were two black GOP nominees and Democrat Deval Patrick, who went on to win elec- tion in Massachusetts. By Errin Haines Whack and Geoff Mulvihill Associated Press ith Andrew Gillum’s up- set victory in Florida, Black candidates have won the Democratic nomi- nation for governor in three states this year in a historic turn largely attributed to voter back- lash against President Donald Trump. Gillum, Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Ben Jeal- ous in Maryland were all aided in recent months by strong turnout, espe- cially among black vot- ers. “This moment is de- fined by the politics of Trump and the Repub- lican Party, which are grounded in bigotry, fear and racism,” said Adri- anne Shropshire, exec- utive director of Black PAC. “I think voters are responding to that by showing up to the polls as a protest to the politics that we’re seeing right now.” Voters have elected just two Black governors in U.S. history — in 2006 in Massachusetts and 1989 AP PHOTO/STEVE CANNON W Andrew Gillum with his wife, R. Jai Gillum at his side addresses his supporters after winning the Democrat primary for governor on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Tallahassee, Fla. in Virginia. Abrams and Jealous face uphill battles in No- vember, while Gillum’s contest is expected to be close. They will have to figure out how to trans- late the enthusiasm among primary voters to the general election, and will have to win over moderate Democrats, in- dependents and proba- bly some Republicans. The GOP candidates in Georgia and Florida are big supporters of Trump, setting up stark contrasts in both con- tests. “It’s going to be very in- teresting in Georgia and Florida with the person- alities of the Republican nominees and the tactics they’ve already taken and verbiage they’ve used,” said Kimberly Peeler-Allen, co-found- er of Higher Heights for America PAC, a group that focuses on Black fe- male candidates and vot- ers. “It’s going to be real- ly ugly before it’s over.” In fact, race became an issue in the Florida con- test on Wednesday, the morning after the pri- mary, when Gillum said voters aren’t looking for a misogynist, racist or bigot, and the Republi- can nominee, Rep. Ron DeSantis, said Floridians shouldn’t “monkey this up” by choosing his Afri- can-American opponent. The Florida Democrat- ic Party decried DeSan- tis’ comment as racist, “ It’s going to be re- ally ugly before it’s over Abrams, Gillum and Jealous represent the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party, with backing from Sen. Ber- nie Sanders, and Repub- licans are already casting them as too liberal for their states. Florida and Georgia voted for Trump in 2016, while Maryland went for Hillary Clinton. Just hours after Gillum won his primary, Trump went on Twitter to call him “a failed Socialist Mayor” and point out the crime rate in the city Gil- lum leads, Tallahassee. Abrams, a former minority leader in the George House, faces Bri- an Kemp, Georgia’s sec- retary of state. Maryland is more friendly terri- tory for Democrats, but Jealous is challenging a popular incumbent, Re- publican Larry Hogan. The Republican Gover- nors Association plans to target all three Dem- ocrats for supporting expensive social welfare programs, spokesman Jon Thompson said. “This has nothing to do with color, gender or any other identifying characteristic,” he said. “This has to do with far- left policies that would wreck state budgets and hurt job growth.” History also provides a reality check: Other black candidates for gov- ernor with much high- er profiles have failed — most notably former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and former At- lanta Mayor Andrew Young, who didn’t even survive his party prima- ry. The hope for all three of this year’s candidates lies in a surge of turnout from Black and liber- See PRIMARIES on page 11
