Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for Florida governor, warned his Republican opponent Ron DeSantis to be "careful" with his words in the racially charged start to the general election campaign.
Gillum, seeking to become Florida's first black governor, appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday and responded to reports of a racist anti-Gillum robocall put out by a neo-Nazi group Friday. The call, which contained jungle noises and exaggerated black dialect, was first reported by the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat.
Gillum acknowledged that Republicans quickly denounced the robocall call but added: "We cannot afford to weaponize race. People take cues from their leader, and Ron DeSantis is the leader. ... (DeSantis) must be careful about his language."
On Wednesday, DeSantis said in an interview with Fox News that Florida couldn't afford to "monkey this up" when talking about Gillum's progressive policies.
Gillum and some Democrats accused DeSantis, a member of the U.S. House backed by President Donald Trump, of making a racist remark. DeSantis said there was no racial intent in what he said.
On Sunday, when Gillum was asked reports of an ongoing FBI investigation of corruption in Tallahassee, where Gillum is the mayor, he said he was not the target of the investigation and that he has "worked to cooperate. ... We want it resolved."
Gillum said he raised $2 million in the first two days after his primary victory last Tuesday over former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, mostly from small donors.
