Andrew Gillum, who won the Democratic primary for Florida governor in a stunning upset Tuesday, raised $1 million in the first 24 hours after his nomination, according to spokesperson Geoff Burgan.
Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, Fla., is Florida’s first African-American major-party nominee for governor and is a progressive backed by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. He was the only leading Democrat in his primary to endorse “Medicare-for-all” single-payer health care, a top progressive agenda item and the policy most famously championed by Sanders.
An early underdog in a crowded field, the 39-year-old edged out former Rep. Gwen Graham to capture the gubernatorial nomination with the support of grass-roots Florida progressives.
He was also backed by a coalition of groups like the Collective PAC, which is dedicated to elevating African-American candidates; Indivisible, an organization formed in response to President Donald Trump’s election in 2016; and the Working Families Party.
Gillum will face Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis in November, who has the support of President Donald Trump. DeSantis drew accusations of racism Wednesday when he said Florida voters would “monkey this up” if they elected his opponent as governor.
CNN’s Kyle Blaine and Gregory Krieg contributed to this report.