Obama headed to Miami to campaign with Andrew Gillum ahead of heated Florida race

It was only a matter of time before Democratic rising star Andrew Gillum and former President Barack Obama‘s path’s crossed.

Monday, it was announced that Obama is scheduled to stump with Florida’s two top-of-ticket candidates, Gillum and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, in Miami on Friday, which is only four days before the November 6th elections.

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Donald Trump will also be headed to the Sunshine state this week to back his own candidates, with a visit to Fort Myers with GOP nominee Ron DeSantis and Gov. Rick Scott.

According to the Miami Herald, “The rallies by the parties’ figureheads come as out-of-state megadonors pump millions into the governor’s race and Democrats beat the bushes to help Nelson keep up with the independently wealthy and self-funding Scott. In the nation’s largest swing state, the parties are going all out during an election that feels like a precursor to the 2020 presidential campaign.”

Florida’s gubernatorial race has increasingly received national attention, especially after Gillum’s impressive showing against DeSantis during last week’s debates.

Gillum, who currently serves as the mayor of Tallahassee, has often been compared to Obama, and like the former president is running a campaign that relies heavily on the audacity of hope.

If he wins, he would make history as Florida’s first black governor and last Wednesday, he called out his opponent, GOP nominee Ron DeSantis for fraternizing with racists intent to treat the color of his skin like a liability.

“First of all, he’s got neo-Nazis helping him out in this state,” Gillum pointed out, referring to a white supremacist group that is running racist robo-calls against him.

“Now, I’m not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist, I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist,” he declared to raucous applause from the debate audience in attendance.

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“I’m proud and humbled to have President Obama, my friend and a true patriot, on the campaign trail here in Florida,” Gillum said in a statement about this week’s visit.

“President Obama knows what’s at stake in this election — protections for people with pre-existing conditions, funding for public schools, and leadership to restore our environment.”