Scott Powers
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gwen Graham is unveiling a new online video that also will serve as her introduction at this weekend’s Florida Democratic Party conference decrying 20 years of Republican rule of Florida and declaring that if she’s elected governor Democrats will “Take it Back.”
The two-minute, 26-second video features dramatic music of pounding piano chords and drums as ominous images of Florida and Republicans give way to rapid-fire clips of Graham on the campaign trail, interrupted occasionally by slaps of text following the theme, “We Will Take Back” one aspect or another of Florida.
Along the way, Graham narrates, briefly pointing out: “It didn’t used to be that way.”
Graham then goes through her basic platform points on health care, public schools, gun control, and “for people to want the best for each other.”
There also are the obligatory shots of her father, former Florida Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, though he’s not explicitly identified. As those nostalgic pictures roll, she says, “I grew up in a household where public service meant caring about the people of the state and caring about the state itself. We’ve lost that, but we’re going to take it back.”
Graham created the video to be shown at the Democrats’ Leadership Blue event in Hollywood. Her rivals for the August 28 Democratic primary for governor, Andrew Gillum, Chris King, Philip Levine, and Jeff Greene also are expected to provide such videos.
Graham’s campaign also is announcing Thursday it will place an online buy behind the video to target Democrats in Hollywood over the weekend. Her campaign announced it is also holding a Leadership Blue “Women for Graham” kickoff party Friday night that will feature locally elected women, EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock, and a nationally known special guest who will announce her endorsement of Graham.
Among her points, Graham gets unusually feisty — for her — declaring, “As governor, I’m not going to allow Florida to be the testing lab for all of these right-wing charter school privatization models,” and “It’s B.S. that there’s nothing that we can do to get these weapons of war off our streets and out of our schools.”
And while the video includes no fewer than 15 shots of Graham’s trademark hugs, she also takes issue with her own generally civil behavior and reputation, stating, “do not mistake my friendliness for any single bit of lack of resolve.”
