President Trump’s favored candidate, GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis, defeated state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday after riding the wave of the president's enthusiastic endorsement to victory. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Bernie Sanders-backed Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum pulled off a major upset in defeating a half a dozen rivals, including former Rep. Gwen Graham, in the Democratic primary. 
 
 DeSantis and Gillum will face each other in November's general election. If he triumphs, Gillum would be the state's first black governor. 
 
 During a celebration event in Orlando, DeSantis thanked the president for "viewing me as somebody who could be a great leader for Florida." 
 
 "Our victory is a good victory, anyways," DeSantis said, complimenting Putnam on a hard-fought race. "But man, to beat someone of his caliber is a big, big deal." 
 
 The president repeatedly had implored voters to support DeSantis over Putnam. Trump offered his congratulations on Twitter. 
 
 "Such a fantastic win for Ron DeSantis and the people of the Great State of Florida," Trump tweeted. "Ron will be a fantastic Governor. On to November!" 
 
 Appearing on the "Ingraham Angle" later, DeSantis downplayed the notion that his win was due to the president's backing, and touted his record on combatting environmental problems, illegal immigration, and education reform. 
 
 "We've been talking about these key issues time and time again and we're going to continue to do that and spread the message far and wide," he said. 
 
 Gillum, Tallahassee’s progressive mayor backed by the Democratic-socialist Sanders, shocked observers with his win, as Graham, the daughter of former Florida Governor and Sen. Bob Graham, led in pre-election polls. 
 
 "I'm truly honored to represent people across the state as the Democratic nominee -- and I promise to stand up for everyday Floridians and the issues that matter most," Gillum tweeted after his win. 
 
 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic socialist star running for New York's 14th district, praised Gillum for staking out liberal positions by supporting Medicare for all, legalizing marijuana and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 
 
 “The progressive movement is transforming the country - and he proved that again tonight,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. 
 
 In the state's closely-watched Senate contest, Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday easily won the GOP nomination. He faced a challenge from perennial candidate Roque De La Fuente. 
 
 "Congratulations to Governor Rick Scott of Florida on his conclusive Republican Primary Win," Trump, who encouraged Scott to run, tweeted. "He will be a great Senator!" 
 
 Scott, who is term-limited as governor, is set to face incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in what surely will be one of the most closely watched Senate races in November. Nelson ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. 
 
 But much of the attention in the run-up to Tuesday's vote had been on the contentious Republican gubernatorial primary between DeSantis and Putnam. 
 
 During a Fox News-sponsored debate in June, DeSantis played up Trump’s backing of his campaign, expressing doubt that Putnam adequately supported Trump. “I am proud to have the endorsement of President Trump in this race,” DeSantis said. 
 
 DeSantis, 39, is an Iraq War veteran and decorated military lawyer who has served in the U.S. House since 2013. He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School. 
 
 Putnam, 44, also played up his support for Trump, but emphasized, “I am focused on Florida.” 
 
 As for the Senate race, Republicans are hoping Scott could flip the seat in a battle with Nelson, one of the Democratic Party’s most vulnerable incumbents. 
 
 Trump narrowly defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Florida in the 2016 presidential race by less than 2 percentage points. 
 
 It was a good night for incumbents in House races in Florida, as Republican Carlos Curbelo and Democrat Stephanie Murphy were among those who beat back primary challengers. 
 
 National Democrats have eyed Curbelo's 26th congressional district as a potential pickup target, in large part because it voted heavily for Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. But with almost all precincts reporting, approximately 2,500 more people had turned out to vote in the GOP primary than in the Democratic primary. 
 
 Curbelo garnered 84 percent of the vote against primary opponent Souraya Faas, who described Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad as "heroes" and claimed chemical attacks in Syria's civil war were "staged." 
 
 In November, Curbelo will face Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former associate dean at the Florida International University Medical School and Democratic candidate for state Senate. 
 
 Murphy, who unseated GOP incumbent John Mica in 2016, easily defeated a primary challenge in the 7th District from Chardo Richardson, who was backed by Ocasio-Cortez. She will face Florida state Rep. Mike Miller in November's general election. 
 
 Fox News’ Samuel Chamberlain, Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Mike Arroyo and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| Andrew Gillum addresses his supporters after winning the Democrat primary for governor on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon) (Associated Press) 
 
 Andrew Gillum addresses his supporters after winning the Democrat primary for governor on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon) (Associated Press) 
 
 TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) — A liberal Florida Democrat pulled off an upset victory while President Donald Trump's favored candidate cruised to an easy win Tuesday, setting up a fierce showdown for the governor's mansion in the nation's largest political battleground. 
 
 Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, an unabashed progressive, won the Democratic primary, moving him a step away from becoming the state's first black governor. He'll face off against Trump-backed Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis. 
 
 DeSantis gave Trump credit for his victory, saying that with one supportive tweet, the president "kind of put me on the map." Gillum is his party's third black gubernatorial nominee this year, along with Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Ben Jealous in Maryland. 
 
 The results immediately transformed the Florida race into one of the most closely watched gubernatorial campaigns in the country. Gillum's primary victory could help Democrats boost enthusiasm among minorities who often don't vote in large numbers in years when a presidential candidate isn't on the ballot. Meanwhile, DeSantis will test Trump's grip on a crucial state he won in 2016 and wants to keep in his column in 2020. 
 
 DeSantis was one of several Republicans running in contests Tuesday in Florida and Arizona — another closely watched political battleground — who hoped that cozying up to the president would be rewarded by voters. Trump has thrust himself into the forefront of the midterm campaign in hopes of motivating his supporters and offsetting Democratic enthusiasm. 
 
 In Arizona, primary contests were shadowed by the death of Sen. John McCain. Though McCain was a towering figure who was elected to the Senate by Arizonans six times, the three Republican candidates running to replace his retiring seat-mate, Sen. Jeff Flake — including establishment favorite Rep. Martha McSally — aligned themselves more with the president than the longtime senator. 
 
 Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey planned to name a replacement to fill McCain's seat after his funeral. 
 
 Polls closed in Arizona at the end of a day that began with delayed openings at dozens of polling locations in the state's largest county. Leaders in Maricopa County rejected calls to try to keep polls open later, saying it may confuse voters and delay returns. No problems were reported elsewhere in the state. 
 
 Elsewhere Tuesday, GOP voters in reliably Republican Oklahoma backed mortgage company owner Kevin Stitt in a runoff for the gubernatorial nomination. Stitt won in part by criticizing his opponent as insufficiently supportive of Trump. 
 
 Trump surprised Florida Republicans late last year with his endorsement of DeSantis, and frequently tweeted about the lawmaker, one of his staunchest supporters in Washington. His backing helped push DeSantis past Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who has held elected office in Florida since 1996, quickly built up establishment support and raised millions of dollars. 
 
 Gillum came from behind in a crowded and diverse Democratic field. Former Rep. Gwen Graham, whose father, Bob Graham, served as governor, had hoped to position herself to become the state's first female governor. 
 
 Gillum, a favorite of progressives, spent the least of the five major Democratic candidates and had the smallest television presence. He often said he was the only candidate in the race who wasn't a millionaire or billionaire, and won the endorsement of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. 
 
 At a victory party in Tallahassee, Gillum thanked supporters who "took hold of our vision and our mission and our plan for a state that makes room for all of us, not just the well-heeled and the well-connected, but all of us." 
 
 The winner of the Florida governor's race will give his or her party an advantage in a key political battleground heading into the 2020 presidential campaign. 
 
 Florida Gov. Rick Scott is vacating the governor's mansion to run for Senate. He easily won his primary, setting up a showdown with Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson that is expected to be one of the nation's most competitive races. 
 
 Democrats also eyed pickup opportunities in Florida as they try to flip control of the U.S. House. One of their best chances is in South Florida, where Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is retiring in a district that should favor Democrats. 
 
 Donna Shalala, who served as President Bill Clinton's Health and Human Services secretary, claimed the Democratic nomination in Ros-Lehtinen's district. 
 
 The contests in both Florida and Arizona were being closely watched for signs of how the political battlegrounds might tilt in the 2020 presidential election. 
 
 McCain's death has highlighted anew the shift in the Republican Party since he captured the GOP nomination for president in 2008. With his consistently conservative voting record, Arizonans elected McCain to the Senate six times, including in 2016. But his more moderate stance on immigration and his deciding vote last year against Trump's efforts to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law turned off many GOP voters. 
 
 A CNN survey in June found that 67 percent of Democrats had a favorable opinion of McCain, while just 33 percent of Republicans did. 
 
 Among those on the Arizona ballot was former state Sen. Kelli Ward, who tried unsuccessfully to unseat McCain in 2016. When McCain's family said last week that he was discontinuing medical treatment, Ward speculated in a later-deleted Facebook post that the announcement was intended to hurt her campaign for Flake's seat. 
 
 Ward apologized Monday, saying she was bemoaning media coverage rather than the family's announcement. 
 
 "I do understand how many could have misconstrued my comments as insensitive, and for this I apologize," Ward said. 
 
 Also running for the Senate nomination was former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the controversial immigration hardliner. Trump spared Arpaio a possible jail sentence last year by pardoning his federal conviction stemming from immigration patrols. 
 
 McSally, a fighter pilot turned congresswoman in the McCain mold, was hoping Ward and Arpaio split Arizona's anti-establishment vote. 
 
 The winner of the GOP primary is likely to face Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who had only token primary opposition. Sinema announced that she was pausing her campaign Wednesday and Thursday, when McCain's body will lie in Arizona's Capitol. 
 
 Sinema's and McSally's Senate runs also have created House openings in Arizona, a fast-growing and increasingly diverse state where Democrats are eager to gain a foothold. McSally's district in particular is expected to be one of the most competitive House races in November's general election. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Pace reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Joe Reedy in Tallahassee, Florida, Nicholas Riccardi in Phoenix, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City, AP polling editor Emily Swanson in Washington, Kelli Kennedy in Miami and Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale contributed to this report. 
 
 ___ 
 
 On Twitter, follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Brendan Farrington at http://twitter.com/bsfarrington ||||| Andrew Gillum has become the first African-American nominee for Florida governor, pulling off an upset win over favorite Gwen Graham and two big-spending businessmen in a crowded Democratic primary field. 
 
 The Tallahassee mayor will face Jacksonville congressman Ron DeSantis, who easily defeated state agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam thanks to the backing of President Donald Trump. 
 
 “We’re going to bring this thing home,” Gillum told his election night gathering in Tallahassee. “As the mayor of Florida’s capital city, I humbly accept the Democratic nomination.” 
 
 Gillum never led in any public polling, but was showing signs of gaining momentum in the final weeks. He benefited from being chosen by the progressive wing of the party’s most generous benefactors ― including billionaires Tom Steyer and George Soros ― as well as from a barrage of negative ads against Graham by billionaire Jeff Greene. 
 
 Greene wound up finishing fourth in the five-way pack, but he spent $10 million on ads attacking Graham ― more than she spent on television on her own behalf. Liberal outside groups, meanwhile, coalesced around Gillum and served as his turnout operation, particularly in urban areas with large concentrations of younger and minority voters. 
 
 Gillum, 39, had difficulty raising money for his campaign after the revelation that the FBI was investigating Tallahassee city government. He says he heard he is not a target of the probe, but one of his closest friends and a former political ally has been the subject of federal subpoenas examining a restaurant he developed in part using city money. 
 
 Gillum wound up raising the least money of the five candidates ― $8.4 million between his campaign and a political committee under his control. In contrast, Greene raised $43 million, $40 million from himself. And Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine, who started airing TV ads 10 months ago and led the race for several months, raised a total of $41 million, of which $29.5 million was his own cash. 
 
 But throughout the race, Gillum’s embrace of progressive ideals such as Medicare for all and his engaging public speaking style made him a favorite of the party’s most liberal activists. In the final weeks, he was endorsed by Vermont senator and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who campaigned with Gillum in the closing days of the race. 
 
 Gillum cut his teeth on political activism as a student government leader at Florida A&M University just a few blocks from Florida’s Capitol, where he led protests against Gov. Jeb Bush’s plan to revamp the state’s affirmative action programs. He went to work for People for the American Way before running for a seat on the Tallahassee City Commission in 2003. He became the city’s mayor in 2014. 
 
 Christopher Aluka Berry/Reuters Andrew Gillum addresses the audience at the Netroots Nation annual conference for political progressives in Atlanta on Aug. 10, 2017. 
 
 The Florida gubernatorial race will now become a referendum on Trump’s presidency, with Gillum painting DeSantis as a Trump clone and DeSantis hoping to bring out as many Trump voters as he can in November. 
 
 Trump has spent winter weekends and holidays at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach for years and considers himself a part-time resident of the state. It is unclear how frequently, if at all, he will campaign for DeSantis in the two months leading up to the Nov. 6 general election. Whether Republicans retain control of Congress could determine the survival of the Trump presidency, and his political advisers may choose to focus his time on House and Senate seats. 
 
 Trump campaigned with DeSantis only once during the primary, at a rally in Tampa in July, and sent out a handful of supportive statements on Twitter, including the message “VOTE FOR RON” in all capitals late Monday. But in a GOP primary electorate bearing little resemblance to the one that supported former Gov. Jeb Bush and former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack, Trump’s seal of approval allowed DeSantis to overcome enormous disadvantages in cash and traditional support. 
 
 The state Republican establishment was solidly behind Putnam even before he announced his candidacy. From a cattle ranching and citrus family in the heart of the state, Putnam had been grooming himself for this run from the time he graduated college. He won a state legislative seat at age 22, then moved to Congress four years later, returning to Florida in 2010 to run for state agriculture commissioner. 
 
 He served two terms, coinciding with Rick Scott’s years as governor, and had appeared the heir apparent to the job as Scott leaves because of term limits. 
 
 DeSantis, in contrast, entered politics just six years ago, when he ran for Congress from the wealthy suburbs of Jacksonville, his hometown, after serving as a Navy prosecutor. His deployment to Iraq during President George W. Bush’s “troop surge” there was a highlight of his biography on the campaign trail. Despite the populist, pro-Trump rhetoric he has delivered for years from the Fox TV studio near the U.S. Capitol, DeSantis graduated from Yale and received a law degree from Harvard. 
 
 Carlos Barria/Reuters President Donald Trump talks with Ron DeSantis during a Make America Great Again Rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida, on July 31, 2018. 
 
 And while Putnam also praised Trump repeatedly on the campaign trail, his standing with Trump likely was irreparably damaged in October 2016 after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape that featured Trump bragging that his celebrity enabled him to grab women by the genitals. Putnam criticized Trump for the remarks, while DeSantis did not. 
 
 DeSantis leaned on Trump’s approval heavily, mentioning it often in stump speeches and in TV ads. He even produced an ad using his young children as props, dressing up his infant in a “Make America Great Again” onesie. 
 
 Yet while DeSantis’ love for and from Trump clearly helped him against Putnam in the Republican primary, it may wind up hurting him in the November election against Gillum. Trump is not popular with many independents and even some moderate Republicans. Democrat Margaret Good defeated the son of sitting Republican congressman Vern Buchanan in a special election for a state House seat in Sarasota earlier this year, even though the district leans solidly Republican. 
 
 Florida Democrats have not won a governor’s race since 1994, when Lawton Chiles won a second term by defeating Republican Jeb Bush. The party has come within a single percentage point in both 2010 and 2014, losing both times to Scott. ||||| Democrat Andrew Gillum has conceded the race for Florida governor to Republican Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantisGOP makes inroads with Hispanics in Florida Election Countdown: Florida fight ends with Scott, DeSantis wins | Dems see Sunbelt in play for 2020 | Trump to campaign in Mississippi ahead of runoff | GOP wipeout in Orange County | Ortiz Jones concedes in Texas House race Manual electoral process results in higher voter trust, says pollster MORE, marking a major win for the GOP in their bid to hold on to the top job in the nation's largest swing state. 
 
 "Earlier this evening, I called Mr. Ron DeSantis and congratulated him on what we expect will be him as the next governor of the great state of Florida," Gillum told supporters Tuesday night. "I want you to know that in spite of our congratulating him on his victory this evening, nothing we believe in has been compromised." 
 
 DeSantis's apparent victory is a key accomplishment for Republicans, who feared that an energetic Democratic base and dissatisfaction with President Trump Donald John TrumpFranklin Graham: Trump defends the Christian faith Trump slams '60 Minutes' over report on family separations GOP senators open door to tougher response on Saudi Arabia MORE among moderate voters could cost them the governorship in the country's third-most-populous state. 
 
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 The win is also likely to be seen as a bellwether for Trump's support in the nation's largest swing state ahead of his 2020 reelection bid. With 29 electoral votes, Florida is seen as a decisive battleground in presidential elections — and one Trump is eager to hold on to after winning the state in 2016. 
 
 The race between DeSantis and Gillum pitted two candidates from dueling ends of the political spectrum. 
 
 DeSantis, a former congressman who raised his national profile through frequent appearances on Fox News, cast himself as an intensely loyal ally of the president, building large parts of his campaign around a vow to cooperate with the Trump administration. 
 
 Meanwhile, Gillum, who secured the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersSanders on 'alarming' climate change report: 'We’ve got to wake up and address these issues' The Memo: White House says it’s Dems who must work with Trump Schatz: Dems will nominate a progressive in 2020 MORE (I-Vt.) earlier this year, campaigned on a message of increasing corporate taxes in the state, raising the minimum wage to $15 and expanding Medicaid. If elected, Gillum would have been Florida's first African-American governor. 
 
 The race was replete with bitter partisan politics and racial overtones. DeSantis came under fire repeatedly for race-related controversies, beginning the day after the Aug. 28 primary when he said on Fox News that voters should not "monkey this up" by electing Gillum. 
 
 In his victory speech on Tuesday night, DeSantis sought to portray himself as someone who would be a governor for everyone and addressed the bitter nature of his battle against Gillum. 
 
 “Political campaigns are a rough business and are often about highlighting our differences, and unfortunately these days they often spiral into downright demagoguery,” DeSantis said. 
 
 “We need to build a Florida that’s cleaner, safer, stronger, and that’ll be my guiding light as governor,” he said. 
 
 For his part, Gillum faced criticism over an ongoing FBI investigation into suspected corruption in Tallahassee City Hall. He has repeatedly said that he is not a focus of that probe. Still, questions about his leadership and ties to targets of the investigation loomed large over his campaign for governor. 
 
 Public polls consistently showed a tight race, though Gillum often held narrow leads over DeSantis. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, put the race in the "toss-up" column. 
 
 As vote counts rolled in on Tuesday night, the race remained close. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Gillum and DeSantis remained separated by a single point — though one that the Tallahassee mayor appeared unlikely to gain. 
 
 “I sincerely regret that I couldn’t bring it home for you,” Gillum told supporters, drawing cheers and applause. “But I can guarantee you this, I’m not going anywhere.”
– Andrew Gillum pulled off an upset victory in Florida on Tuesday to become the state's first black nominee for governor, the AP reports. The Bernie Sanders-backed liberal Democrat, currently the mayor of Tallahassee, will run against President Trump-endorsed Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis, Fox News reports, results that the AP says "immediately transformed the Florida race into one of the most closely watched gubernatorial campaigns in the country." The Huffington Post says the November election will be "a referendum" on the president. Trump congratulated DeSantis on Twitter after his win. More from the primaries in Florida and Arizona, both closely watched political battleground states, plus a runoff election in Oklahoma on Tuesday: Florida Senate race: Current Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is term-limited in that role, won the GOP nomination and will run against incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and is seen as vulnerable.