FILE PHOTO: Republican candidate for Governor Ron DeSantis holds a rally in Orlando, Florida, U.S., November 5, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
November 7, 2018
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) – Ron DeSantis won the Florida governor’s race on Tuesday, bolstered by the strong support of fellow Republican President Donald Trump.
DeSantis, 40, a conservative former congressman, defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum, 39, the staunchly liberal mayor of state capital Tallahassee who was seeking to become Florida’s first black governor and who conceded the race.
Florida is the most populous of the battleground states that swing between the parties in presidential elections, but Republicans have controlled the governor’s mansion for two decades.
(Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tallahassee; Editing by Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis)
