As he considers running for governor next year, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine is traveling far afield this week, gauging the mood of Florida's electorate through a statewide listening tour.
- Miami Beach mayor in Tallahassee as part of listening tour
- Philip Levine, a wealthy businessman, considering run for governor
- Levin is a Democrat
The journey brought Levine to a venue about as far from the urbane sophistication of Ocean Drive as is perhaps possible: Bradley's Country Store on the outskirts of Tallahassee. The store is renowned for its handmade sausages and was a favorite stopover for Florida's last Democratic governor, Lawton Chiles, in the 1990s.
This ain't Ocean Drive, y'all: Miami Beach @MayorLevine, a prospective #flgov candidate, visits Bradley's Country Store near TLH this AM pic.twitter.com/rKAClUhEU7
— Troy Kinsey (@TroyKinsey) July 14, 2017
Following two successive gubernatorial contests in which Democrats failed to campaign aggressively outside of the progressive stronghold of South Florida and the swing counties of the I-4 corridor, Levine suggested it's time for the party to reach outside its comfort zone.
"I know one thing as an entrepreneur and a businessperson: these folks that live everywhere, they're customers," Levine said. "They pay taxes, and they want to be treated like customers, and I think that to know your customers is to understand, really, more about your state."
The listening tour, then, was in large measure a crash course in Florida's diverse demographics for Levine, a wealthy businessman who spent nearly $2 million of his personal fortune to capture the mayor's office. Since announcing last year that he wouldn't run for re-election, Levine has raised $4 million for his state political committee, All About Florida, including $2 million from himself.
"It's unique, it's multicultural, interesting, exciting, and I think Florida is so different than the rest of our country, and I think Florida is kind of a microcosm of what our country is," Levine said of the insights he gained from his week-long tour.
Prospective #flgov candidate @MayorLevine picks up some gluten-free BBQ sauce at Bradley's Country Store: pic.twitter.com/To1HWNiwyU
— Troy Kinsey (@TroyKinsey) July 14, 2017
The mayor, who hosts a program on Sirius/XM satellite radio, was accompanied by an audio crew recording the tour for a series of episodes that will begin airing in August. Levine says he plans to make a decision on the gubernatorial race this fall.
Three Democrats -- Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham and Orlando developer Chris King -- have already launched gubernatorial campaigns. Like Levine, another wealthy Democrat, Orlando power lawyer John Morgan, is weighing whether to enter the race.