>
Article snippet: Sen. MORE (I-Vt.) is giving an assist to Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum in his uphill battle to win Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial primary in a test of whether the progressive star’s magic can resonate in the Sunshine seat. Sanders visited Tampa and Orlando on Friday to boost Gillum, who has adopted some of the Vermont senator's highest-profile proposals – “Medicare for All” and a $15-an-hour minimum wage – into his own platform. ADVERTISEMENT Gillum, 39, trails his opponents in fundraising, and several opinion polls have shown him running in fourth place behind former Rep. MORE (D-Fla.), former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and South Florida businessman Jeff Greene. Gillum’s supporters, however, argue there’s plenty of time for their candidate to make a late charge before the Aug. 28 primary, and they see the Sanders visit as being enormously helpful. “This has always been a late-breaking race,” Geoff Burgan, a spokesman for Gillum’s campaign, told The Hill. “Now, we’re surging; we’re peaking at the right time.” Burgan then added, “it’s not nothing to get Bernie stumping for you.” Florida hasn’t been prime Bernie ground in the past, however. Sanders, seen by many as a potential White House candidate again in 2020, was crushed by MORE in the 2016 primary in Florida, losing by 31 points. The progressive champion has also had a mixed record, at best, in primaries so far this cycle. Sanders’ preferred candidate for Montana’s at-large House seat, folk si... Link to the full article to read more