Jacob Ogles
In the wake of Hurricane Matthew’s tremendous destruction, this no longer looks like a typical campaign weekend, as many of the candidates for office instead devote 100 percent of their time to storm-struck areas.
Gov. Rick Scott, Republican U.S. Senate candidate, called for a delay in a Tuesday debate with incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Instead, he says he will focus exclusively on recovery efforts. The governor plans to tour every county affected by the storm, he told MyPanhandle.com.
Nelson, meanwhile, has also been touring the Panhandle and continues to do so, while also working with Republican Sen. Marco Rubio to align federal resources for storm recovery.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, also has job duties keeping him off the campaign trail. He will remain in Tallahassee helping with disaster response. But New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will campaign on his behalf in West Palm Beach and Delray Beach today, according to the Palm Beach Post. Surrogates will be filling in through the day regarding pre-planned events in South Florida today. Gillum’s wife R. Jai Gillum, along with running mate Chris King‘s wife Kristen, will participate in the Miami Susan G. Komen Pink Walk and hold a talk on Gillum’s health care platform.
In the morning, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis , Republican Attorney General candidate Ashley Moody and Republican Agriculture Commissioner candidate Matt Caldwell will join forces to delivery supplies to storm-ravaged areas. The candidates will connect at the Busy Bee Truck Stop in Live Oak at 10 a.m.. Then the “Working for Florida” caravan rides with Bikers for Trump to Rutherford High School in Panama City, where they expect to arrive around 1:30 p.m. The Republican Party of Florida also organized a relief supply shipment that will arrive at Grayton Beer Company in Santa Rosa Beach sometime between 10:30 a.m. and noon, and encouraged volunteers that can get to the location to assist.
DeSantis later today plans to attend an event at the Temple Kol Ami Emanuel in Plantation at 4 p.m. He plans to discuss Israel policy and the BDS Movement. Yesterday, he swung through South Florida yesterday to pick up a police union endorsement. His running mate, Jeanette Nunez, meanwhile, visited the Bay County EOC of Friday.
