Florida governor race a clash between liberal Democrat and Trump-backed Republican

Liberal Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum's stunning win in the Democratic primary for Florida governor sets up a marquee November showdown against a Republican aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump in the country's most populous swing state.

Following Tuesday's primary, the two parties are looking to their bases, or most fervent supporters - progressive Democrats and Republican conservatives - for victory in the Nov. 6 election. The race will also be closely watched for clues about the mood of voters and messaging ahead of 2020 when Trump could be seeking re-election against a liberal Democrat.

More than 3.5 million people voted out of 13 million registered voters in the state on Tuesday for a turnout rate of 27 percent, the highest for a non-presidential Florida primary since 2002.

Gillum, 39, "is a kind of young Democrat that can actually, for a change, spike turnout," said Susan MacManus, a political analyst, and retired political science professor at the University of South Florida, late Tuesday.

If Gillum wins, he would become the state's first black governor.

He will square off in November against Republican U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis, a conservative who won his primary by touting his closeness to Trump.

Trump endorsed DeSantis a few months ago and took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to tout the congressman again, slamming Gillum as a "failed" mayor in Tallahassee, the state capital, without providing evidence.

DeSantis, 39, has been a staunch defender of the president against Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential ties between Trump's campaign and Russia in 2016. Trump denies there was any collusion.

Gillum beat moderate Gwen Graham, a former U.S. representative, and daughter of a prominent Florida politician, after running as an unabashed progressive who backed "Medicare for all," impeaching Trump and standing up to the National Rifle Association.

A Gillum victory would also mark a change in fortunes for Florida Democrats, who have been out of the governor's office for 20 years. Two more moderate candidates fell short against Rick Scott in 2010 and 2014 - the latter was Charlie Crist, who had previously served as Florida governor while a Republican.

"With typical midterm (election) turnout, where Republicans always outnumber Democrats even though Democrats have several thousand more registered voters, statewide Democrats fare poorly," said Daniel Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, on Wednesday.

He noted the exception was former President Barack Obama, who won the state in 2008 and 2012 on strong turnout from younger voters and African-Americans.

Gillum pledged to galvanize younger and minority voters who often sit out midterm elections and ran up big margins in Jacksonville, Miami, and other big metro areas. He trailed Graham in opinion polls for much of the race but surged late with the backing of liberal U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and high-profile wealthy liberal donors like George Soros and Tom Steyer.

MacManus said both candidates will need to fight hard for the growing portion of the Florida electorate – more than one-fourth - that is not aligned with either political party.

"We're going to see whether the candidates can move to the middle and appeal to the increasingly large share of the electorate that doesn't like either party," she said.

The state, the third-most populous in the nation behind heavily progressive California and generally conservative Texas, is often closely contested in federal and state races.

In another Florida race, outgoing, term-limited Governor Rick Scott won a Republican primary to face incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson in a key U.S. Senate race in November.

In Arizona, Republicans nominated U.S. Representative Martha McSally, an establishment favorite, in a three-way Senate primary that became a battle to prove who was most loyal to Trump in a state he won by 4 percentage points in 2016.

The Florida and Arizona primaries came on the last big day of state nominating contests before the Nov. 6 elections, when Democrats will try to pick up 23 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and two seats in the Senate to gain majorities and slam the brakes on Trump's legislative agenda.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)