If the Governorship ever falls into democratic hands, there will be significant electoral reform, and Florida is no longer their safety valve to ensure the majority of the country is under the minority rule of the far right and white evangelical fringe.

Bob Martinez

Jeb Bush

Rick Scott

All three of them corrupt, vultures on the state's resources and cronies to the good ole boy networks.

This goes hand in hand. Beyond electoral votes for POTUS elections, for the first time in 20+ years Democrats could have a chance at having a say in the redistricting process with Andrew Gillum, if he somehow eeks out a win.

There is no party-proportional representation in the Florida. Dems don't have an once of power despite making up roughly half the state.

If we somehow win the governorship, we have a chance at having a fairer map and could end up putting more Democrats in the US House and the Florida House.

This one win could mean so much for the future of Florida Democrats. I only hope Andrew Gillum knows how much his win means and how huge of a chain reaction there could be.

They KNOW the demographic slaughter of their party is on the horizon. They have been in beg, borrow, steal, and sell their souls to the Russian Devil for at least 10 years.
They know it's coming. Trump is the beginning of their end.
And they know that, too.

It's why they will fight tooth and nail to keep it from happening...cause they know if the maps are drawn right and everyone votes their own actual interest, they're a regional party at BEST.
The party of Lincoln , will become the party of Whig that they initially destroyed .
And it will happen because the Republicans embraced the idiot rascists who would still legalize instutional slavery if they could.

What sweet irony for all of us.

The Republicans are setting themselves up as a target for future derision and isolation by the future majority. And a lot of white men, who loathe their policies and attitutude, will be alienated as well.

Why aren’t they figuring out that inclusiveness is for their own good?

Thier vaunted base actually ISNT the racists and haters...it's the campaign donors.
The Base is just who they have to appeal to for the actual vote totals to put them over 35%--fox gets them another 5 and the maps they've gerrymandered gets them another 5, --and the last six comes from the people who don't pay a while lot of attention, and the vote suppression of those who do.

and that includes Russians. Trump has dealings in Florida, so he is invested in the states politics as well.

due to passing the age limit during the past governor's term (70, I believe).

All 3 are "liberals" and whilst Scott was governor they added 5 years to the forcible retirement age -- but starting after the next election. This was going to be the way the GOP cemented their control over FL for a generation.

Still might be.

For that reason and others. Rick Scott knew how significant those supreme court appointments were. That's why he tried to do it himself on his last day, regardless of what the law said.

I wanted both races but if you picked me to choose just one I wouldn't have hesitated to pick Gillum and not Nelson.

I don't think a lot of Floridian voters considered these two key issues - voting and courts.

There is no balance of power in this state. A Gov. DeSantis makes this even worse.

But those aren't sexy heart string tugging campaign issues.

With a republican governor, you can probably screw that up well enough that none of them get to vote in 2020.

most of whom (not sure about Ag Comm) are opposed to that amendment as it is written. per Alex Sink.

That is why Texas is so freaking red!

The GOP is fully entrenched because if the GOP loses Texas, they lose the presidency forever.

Look at how much trouble Beto gave that asshat Cruz, in an election that a couple of years ago would have been a simple walk-on for the Republican...Texas is more "purple" than people think, and trending blue.

If we don't devolve into chaos in the next six years, I think Texas will go blue within the next 20-30 years tops. Of course, at this point that's a mighty big "if"...

Highly recommended reading for anyone who wants to dig into some underlying reasons for Florida's fucked-up-ness:

FINDING FLORIDA / The True Story of the Sunshine State
by T. D. Allman

Over the centuries, Florida has been many things: an unconquered realm protected by geography, a wilderness that ruined Spanish conquistadors, “god’s waiting room,” and a place to start over. Depopulated after the extermination of its original native population, today it’s home to nineteen million. The site of vicious racial violence, including massacres, slavery, and the roll-back of Reconstruction, Florida is now one of our most diverse states, a dynamic multicultural place with an essential role in 21st-century America.

[link:https://g.co/kgs/vMWxnt|

and make sure they are counted was in 2008. and we know who won then.

charlie christ was governor and Republican at the time.

This issues illustrates why Republicans have such a hard-on for so-called "States Rights." They want to diminish the power of the Federal Government so they can run their little fiefdoms without oversight from Uncle Sam.

That Trump needs Florida to stay under Republican control to protect the interests of all the Russian land-owners at Mara-la-go as well as the Russian baby-birthing hotels and condos there...

When I heard that I thought it sounded plausible!