Ryan Nicol
The last time a Democrat served as governor of Florida, Bill Clinton was still president.
In a new campaign ad, Democratic candidate for governor Gwen Graham says it’s time for that to change.
Titled “Twenty” (see below), Graham critiques Republican leadership of the state for the past two decades, and argues she is the candidate best equipped to flip control over to the Democrats.
“It has been really bad for Florida that, for twenty years, the Republican Party has been in total control,” says Graham in the new 30-second ad.
“It’s these high-paid lobbyists that are in charge in Tallahassee. They have not taken Medicaid expansion. They have hurt education. It’s going to take bringing it back to, ‘How do I serve the people?’ “
That echoes the pitch Graham has made recently, telling Florida Politics the 2018 election “is so important for the future of the state.”
“Graham says stand up to the corporate special interests,” explains the ad’s narrator. “Put health care, schools and people first again.”
The Graham campaign has also been focused on the future of abortion rights, after the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy and Monday night’s announcement of his replacement, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
Graham, a former Tallahassee congresswoman, has been near the top of the Democratic gubernatorial field in recent polling, along with former Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, Palm Beach real estate billionaire Jeff Greene and Winter Park businessman Chris King are also competing for the Democratic nomination.
Graham’s new ad is set to air on Orlando and Tampa TV markets. You can watch it below, via YouTube.
