FLORIDA — The republican and democratic candidates for Florida governor have announced their running mates, with less than nine weeks to go until the midterm elections on Nov. 6.
Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis picked state Rep. Jeanette Nunez to be his running mate, marking the first time a Cuban-American woman will run for Florida's lieutenant governor.
DeSantis announced his choice through a press release Thursday just ahead of a rally with Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for U.S. Senate.
TRENDING NOW:
- 'Al-Qaida sent me here to blow the place up,' suspect tells Disney greeter
- Police say Florida mom killed son, made up abduction story: 'Parts of her story didn't make sense'
- Florida man hired Thursday, fired Sunday, tries to kill boss two hours later, police say
- VIDEO: Ford Recalls 2 Million F-150s Over Seatbelt Concerns
Nunez has represented a Miami district since 2010 and serves as speaker pro tempore.
Ironically, DeSantis won the nomination with the backing of President Donald Trump, but when Trump was running for president, Nunez called him a con man on Twitter. The same tweet also accused Trump of supporting the Ku Klux Klan.
.@RepJNunez is a strong, principled leader who will be an outstanding Lieutenant Governor for the people of Florida. She has a proven record of leadership and legislative accomplishments, delivering for both her constituents in Miami-Dade and the state of Florida as a whole. pic.twitter.com/ktIc7CVTfA
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) September 6, 2018
Read: DeSantis says voters would 'monkey this up' by electing Gillum as Florida governor
Meanwhile, Andrew Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor whose upset win in the democratic gubernatorial primary garnered national attention, announced Central Florida native Chris King as his running mate.
King, a businessman living in Winter Park, ran for governor unsuccessfully in the August primary.
Here they are, your Lt-Gov candidates.
— Christopher Heath (@CHeathWFTV) September 6, 2018
In Florida, the Lt-Gov’s only job is to take over for the Governor if he can no longer do the job. That’s it. pic.twitter.com/0UFZs4hGZ7
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CENTRAL FLORIDA DECIDES:
- Some Florida voters receive racist robocall mocking gubernatorial candidate
- Florida's Gillum discloses receipts related to ethics probe
Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/3SUUUF6GS5A6PJGOC73LQAR2RE.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/N2EQMIBRL5APJJAY5D7T6RY44A.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/J6GW2LLVSNACDLRXOYGM2J7UFQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/FPG5BXUNY5BDTPHVOO5FC2JS5I.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/GZQ52Q6NVRHFJJPY5VZ2OCO47E.jpeg)