Updated at 4:35 p.m. ETAndrew Gillum was expected by many to be an also-ran in Florida's Democratic gubernatorial primary. Now, despite being heavily outspent by his better-known centrist rivals, the 39-year-old Tallahassee mayor is his party's nominee, and has already drawn attention from the Oval Office.In addition, only hours into the general election, Gillum's Republican opponent is being criticized for making what some are calling racist remarks, telling Florida not to "monkey this up" by electing Gillum.Gillum, who defeated former Rep. Gwen Graham and several other candidates, would be Florida's first black governor if elected in November."I actually believe that Florida and its rich diversity are going to be looking for a governor who's going to bring us together, not divide us. Not misogynist, not racist, not bigots," Gillum said on CNN on Wednesday morning."They're going to be looking for a governor who is going to appeal to our higher aspirations as a state," he said, "who's going to talk about what it means to build a Florida that makes room for all of us and not just some of us."Democrats have not won the Florida governor's mansion since 1994.Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis, who won the GOP primary with President Trump's endorsement, was accused of racism over a comment he made Wednesday morning on Fox News after Gillum's morning appearance. DeSantis said, "The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state."The chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, Terrie Rizzo, tweeted that it's "disgusting that Ron DeSantis is launching his general election campaign with racist dog whistles."The DeSantis campaign issued a statement later Wednesday, saying:
