The indictment of former Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum has sparked speculation on Twitter about what would have happened if he had won the 2018 gubernatorial race.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, scored a narrow victory over Gillum almost four years ago, and some social media users pointed to the possibility that Gillum could be governor today, but for a relatively small number of votes.
Gillum was indicted Wednesday on 21 federal charges, including wire fraud and false statements to the FBI. He is accused along with Democrat Sharon Lettman-Hicks of fraudulently collecting donations from “various entities” from 2016 to 2019.
Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor, denied the allegations in a written statement, calling the case “political.”
Some Twitter users were reminded of DeSantis’ narrow win over Gillum. The Republican won 49.6 percent of the vote versus Gillum’s 49.2 percent, while other social media users fancied how Gillum might have ruled. That was a margin of just 32,463 votes in an election in which more than 8 million people voted.
Jeff Blehar, co-host of National Review‘s podcast Political Beats made a similar point about the close 2018 election.
“33,000 votes are the difference between barely recognizable alternative political universes”, Blehar wrote.
DeSantis, a conservative Republican, has backed a controversial Florida education law, dubbed by critics the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which led to a major row with the Walt Disney Company. Gillum is a progressive who supported the abolition of immigration and customs enforcement during the 2018 campaign, as well as the expansion of Medicare and the removal of Confederate monuments.
Jack Posobiec, senior editor of conservative news website Human Events, pointed to former President Donald Trump’s support of DeSantis in 2018, who is seeking a second term this year.
“Trump really saved Florida when he pushed DeSantis past Gillum,” he wrote. “0.4% difference in 2018 and Gillum would be governor today.”
There has also been criticism of Gillum and his hypothetical tenure as governor, with some citing DeSantis’ approach to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures. The governor previously said he regrets not speaking out against the restrictions Trump has put in place.
Karol Markowicz, Columnist bei Die New York Post, tweeted: “The country dodged such a bullet. If Gillum had won, we’d probably still be in different stages of lockdown because there wouldn’t have been Governor DeSantis to say, ‘Wait, that’s stupid.'”
Nick Adams, who describes himself as a “President Trump-backed” best-selling author, wrote, “Thank God Ron DeSantis beat Andrew Gillum in 2018.”
Brigitte Gabriel, chair of conservative group ACT for America, tweeted: “Andrew Gillum is a typical Democratic politician, he just got caught.”
In his statement on Wednesday, Gillum said: “Every campaign I have conducted has been conducted with integrity. Make no mistake that this case isn’t legal, it’s political. Throughout my career, I’ve always stood up for the people of Florida and told the truth to power.”
“Ever since I was mayor of Tallahassee, there’s been a target on my back. They found nothing at the time and I have full confidence that my legal team will now prove my innocence,” he said.
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