MIAMI – With their debate in the history books, the two Democratic candidates for Florida governor, Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried, were back on the campaign trail Friday.
And for Crist, the trail led to Overtown, where he met with a group called “Young Professionals for Crist.”
On Friday, Crist was in high spirits when we caught up with him.
He is counting on strong support from Black voters in the primary and has won some key endorsements. Fried has endorsements, too, getting one this week from rapper Luther Campbell and attorney Stephen Johnson.
His pitch to Black voters is simple and direct: “I see you, I hear you, I’ll be fair to you and I’ll bring down your cost of living.”
Republican Gov. Ron Desantis’ pitch is educational and economic opportunity in “the free state of Florida.”
DeSantis’s office announced on Friday that unemployment has dropped to 2.8 percent and 40,000 people joined the workforce in the past month.
To us, that sounds as if the economy is in good shape. Not so fast, says Crist.
“Well, especially if you’re a millionaire or billionaire, the economy is great in Florida. But most of us aren’t. People are having to work two and three minimum wage jobs just to be able to afford their groceries or the price of gas or to pay their utility bills.”
Crist gained the endorsements of the Sun Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel. Newspaper endorsements aren’t as important as they used to be, but they still matter.