Chris King looks to differentiate himself from Democratic field

Chris King knows he has ground to make up in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. But as the August 28 primary closes in, he says his campaign can make it happen.

“I’ve got to work very, very hard all across the state of Florida to communicate our message, communicate our ideas.”

In an interview with Florida Politics from this weekend’s Leadership Blue summit, that message revolved around separating himself from his four main opponents in the race. It’s a goal King came back to throughout the conversation.

“People have not really put me in a box. By virtue of the fact that I’m an entrepreneur by background, they thought maybe I’d be more of a moderate or centrist Democrat. And yet, I’ve come out with some of the more forward-thinking or progressive ideas in the whole field.”

One of those issues is a push for free community college and increased vocational training, the latter of which is even supported by one of his Republican counterparts running for governor.

“I think it’s one of the most powerful potential ideas that’s being discussed on either side of the aisle. And even Adam Putnam is talking a lot about vocational education.”

King also touched on opioid addiction, arguing his push for marijuana legalization would help lessen the epidemic.

“I think that will be a part in hopefully reducing the pressure that we feel in Florida towards opioids.”

He also critiqued Gov. Rick Scott for one key move that King says helped exacerbate the problem.

“I believe that the current governor made the wrong decision in closing the Office of Drug Control, which was really the state agency that was responsible for coordinating on massive public health issues, like opioids.”

King has also called for abolishing the death penalty in the state, which will be difficult if Republicans in the legislature have their way. King knows he’ll have to make a strong case to get it done.

“You start by trying to change the culture around the issue by making the arguments. One, we get it wrong more than any other state in the country and that should not be tolerated by Republicans or Democrats. Two, it’s disproportionately used against communities of color. Three, it hasn’t been a deterrent to violent crime in the state of Florida. And four, it’s very, very expensive.”

King says if he does fail legislatively, he will work with Cabinet members to reduce death sentences via commutations, turning them into sentences of life without parole.

“To me, that is the toughest sentence, that is the hardest sentence.”

He also touched on the divide in the Democratic Party, highlighted by the upset win in New York by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. King seemed confident that he can appeal to all facets of the party.

“I really distinguish myself more by ideas than by political ideology,” said King.

“I’ve not labeled myself as this ultra-this or ultra-that. To me, it’s ideas. So whether someone’s a progressive, or a centrist, or a moderate, if they’re for affordable housing they’re a King person. If they are for free community college or trade school, maybe they consider that progressive. Maybe they think it’s a pretty conservative idea because it’s happening in Republican states. But they’re a King person.”

Still, if the polls are to be believed, that message hasn’t gotten through yet. But with more than 40 percent of voters undecided, there is still a lot of support up for grabs.

In the packed primary, King says he’s eyeing the 25 to 30 percent mark as a winning number.

“As people plug in and tune in, our goal is the be the guy that they say, ‘He’s different. He’s authentic. He’s passionate. And he can lead the Democratic Party in a whole different direction.'”