LAUDERHILL, Fla. \u2014 The race for Florida governor is heating up.<\/p>\n
The Democratic nominee, former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly, made a stop in in South Florida on Thursday.<\/p>\n
It comes a day after his Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, traveled to Texas to speak at the GOP midterm convention.<\/p>\n
For those who buy into polling, it\u2019s a toss-up race and there\u2019s an interesting trend: the partisan divide looks to be much more significant than any racial or ethnic divide, this time. <\/p>\n
Jolly on Thursday was at a Caribbean restaurant in Lauderhill on the same day he announced his Black leadership team. Polling shows Jolly with a solid lead among Black voters, yet he faces an opponent with the potential to be Florida\u2019s first Black governor. <\/p>\n
Asked whether race is a factor, Jolly said, \u201cI hope it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that that the candidates are judged on their policies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Donalds, at President Donald Trumps\u2019s convention this week also downplays race as a campaign factor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to have Democrat socialism run our state,\u201d he told the crowd.<\/p>\n
Donalds has campaigned hard on conservative principles and Republican talking points. <\/p>\n
He and Jolly both say they want to grow Florida\u2019s powerhouse economy. Both agree affordability is the biggest election issue. They have major differences, though, on how to get there. <\/p>\n
\u201cRepublicans have controlled Tallahassee for 30 years and if they could fix homeowners\u2019 insurance or the delivery of health care, or if they could fix a public education system that\u2019s been abandoned, they would,\u201d Jolly said. \u201cBut they haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n