Reform Party candidate pledges to serve full term if elected governor

Darcy Richardson

Darcy Richardson, the Reform Party gubernatorial nominee, pledged today to serve a four-year term if elected — and questioned if Republican Ron DeSantis or Democrat Andrew Gillum can do the same.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if Andrew is running for governor or vice president,” Richardson said. “Florida voters deserve a leader who will remain completely focused on the job at hand, not someone who seems to be keeping one eye on Washington at all times.”

Richardson’s pledge to stick out a full-term must be viewed through the lens that his candidacy remains a longshot. A recent St. Pete Polls survey included the Reform Party candidate as an option for voters, but he carried just 2 percent of support. 

Richardson sent out a press release titled “Governor Chris King,” a reference to Gillum’s running mate. The campaign notes Gillum’s high national profile.

Today, the Democrat campaigns with former Vice President Joe Biden. This weekend, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker visited the state to stump for Gillum, who won the Democratic nomination after a rally with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Gillum also plans a fundraiser with former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“Murmurs of Gillum joining Biden or another candidate on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2020 may excite partisan activists in California and New York, but voters in Florida have already made it very clear they have little interest in putting Chris King into the top executive office,” the Reform Party press release says.

Of course, the party doesn’t give DeSantis a pass (even if they failed to send out a “Governor Jeanette Núñez” release.)

“We know that Ron DeSantis was elected to Congress in 2012 and immediately began plotting a run for statewide office. After an aborted bid for the U.S. Senate in 2015-16, he settled on a run for governor,” the release reads.