Florida Governor candidate Philip Levine paraded down UF’s Plaza of the Americas on the first day of classes and punched his fist into the air as his campaign team shouted through a bullhorn.
Manny Orozco, Levine’s statewide youth outreach director, chanted, “I say fired up, you say ready to go!” and, “Team Levine!” into the speaker. Levine smiled and chanted from inside the middle of a circle that had formed around him.
At about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, former Miami Beach Mayor Levine spoke to more than 20 UF students about raising the minimum wage, statewide healthcare and fighting climate change. Levine is one of five Democrats in the running for Florida governor in the Aug. 28 primary election.
Young voters should be engaged in politics because the outcome of Florida’s vote could largely affect the 2020 presidential election, Levine said to the students.
If Florida swings to a blue state, Levine said Florida voters could “turn the country blue” because “Florida is the last line of defense” against a President Donald Trump reelection.
“Folks, there’s so many things we gotta do,” he said to the crowd. “But as young people that are in college, this election should be so important to you, because so goes Florida this year, so goes the presidency in 2020.”
The UF College Democrats co-hosted the event with the Levine campaign to encourage students vote.
The organization has shuttles to take students every half hour from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday from the Library West car loop to early voting polls to make sure students are heard, said Maia Crok, the UF College Democrats secretary.
Young voters are vital to Florida, which is a swing state where Republicans and Democrats are split, said Crok, a 19-year-old UF economics and sustainability studies sophomore.
“Right now, youth voters have a very unique position in which we could really turn the tide if we come and vote in big numbers,” she said. “I think it shows that he really cares about the youth vote. Being a college student, that really is important to me.”
Rayjahn Odum, of Hollywood, Florida, said he volunteered for Levine’s campaign for governor where he “told people about the gospel of Levine.”
Levine’s platform promises “better gun control laws, access to healthcare for all and investing in public schools, ” the 19-year-old UF information systems sophomore said.
Levine said he differs from the other Democratic Florida governor candidates Andrew Gillum, Jeff Greene, Gwen Graham and Chris King because he has combined success in the private sector with accomplishments in the public sector.
He only had $500 when he graduated from college, but from there, he was able to build up his cruise ship marketing business, Onboard Media, he said. During his time as mayor from 2013 to 2017, Miami Beach became Florida’s first city to raise the minimum wage over $10.
“I think folks are sick of candidates, or politicians, talking about things they’ve actually never done before, and they promise to do,” he said.
Contact Angela DiMichele at adimichele@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @angdimi
Philip Levine, 2018 gubernatorial candidate and former mayor of Miami Beach, speaks to a group of students gathered on the Plaza of the Americas on Wednesday afternoon. The UF College Democrats hosted the event.
