3/8/2019
A Democratic strategist on Friday rejected recent polling showing President Trump struggling with support in Florida, insisting the swing-state remains "Trump country."
Geoff Burgan, who worked as an adviser to former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, pushed back on the findings of the poll released this week.
The Bendixen & Amandi International poll found that a majority of Florida voters, 53 percent, said they don't believe Trump should be reelected in 2020. Forty percent of registered voters in the poll said they think he should get a second term.
“The other day, a poll came out saying Trump was in deep trouble in Florida ... I don’t agree with that,†Burgan, a former communications director for Gillum, said on “Rising.â€
“Florida, right now is Trump country,†he added.
Burgan noted Gillum’s hotly contested governor’s race against incumbent Rep. Ron DeSantis (R), a close ally of Trump. Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, lost to DeSantis after a historic recount, which showed Gillum trailing by almost 34,000 votes.
“We just ran a very, very tough race against now the governor, we now have a U.S. senator," he said, referring to DeSantis and GOP Sen. Rick Scott, who was governor of Florida before winning his Senate race in the 2018 midterms.
“I think Trump is going to pour everything they can into Florida,†Burgan added.
Trump won Florida in the 2016 election, defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by roughly 120,000 votes.
—Tess Bonn
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/433274-former-gillum-campaign-official-florida-is-trump-country
