Candidates reach out to students, seniors and Cory Booker fans

Microphone in focus against unrecognizable crowd

With just three weeks until Election Day, the pressure to deliver votes remains high for candidates across the Sunshine State, some of whom left the trail as Hurricane Michael struck the Panhandle.

So where can you spot the major candidates this weekend?

For Democrats, it’s all about catching up with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum will campaign alongside Booker, a likely 2020 presidential candidate, at the Edward Waters Homecoming Parade in Jacksonville. Gillum will also be joined by fellow Florida officials including state Rep. Tracie Davis, a Jacksonville Democrat, and Jacksonville City Councilman Garrett Dennis. The campaign lines up with the Tigers for Gillum group at the Stanton College Prep School at 9:45 a.m.

Then Booker connect with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who will take his Democratic colleague on the campaign trail. Nelson and Booker, who visited with students at the University of Florida Friday, will meet with students from the University of North Florida today around noon at the Duval County DEC headquarters, then book it to Orlando to greet students at the University of Central Florida come time around 3:30 p.m. Nelson remains locked in a close re-election battle against Republican challenger Rick Scott, Florida’s two–term governor.

On the Republican side, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis will hit Central Florida as well, though he will target slightly older voters at stops in The Villages, Tampa and Orlando. He starts the day at 9:30 a.m. at the Mech-Tech Institute in Orlando, where he will be joined by state Rep. Bob Cortes, an Altamonte Springs Republican, for a “major announcement.” State Reps. Mike Miller and Mike La Rosa will also attend, as will former Puerto Rico House Speaker Jose Aponte.

Then DeSantis heads to Lady Lake to campaign in The Villages with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and state Sen. Dennis Baxley at the La Hacienda Center at 1:30 p.m. DeSantis and Gaetz will close the day with a meet-and-greet at a new Hillsborough Victory office in Tampa at 4 p.m.

Scott has left the campaign trail indefinitely to focus on Hurricane Michael recovery. First Lady Ann Scott may hit the campaign trail but no public appearances have been announced.