Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is reportedly looking at former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum for a potential vice president.
Warren has consulted with Gillum, now a CNN contributor, for months seeking unofficial advice on her presidential run. The talks “resemble the kind of courtship that happens when a leading presidential candidate is exploring potential vice presidential contenders,” according to the Daily Beast.
The Warren campaign denied the whispers about Gillum’s future with the candidate, saying, “that is baseless and not at all true.”
“If you’re trying to win Florida, I would be courting Andrew and that’s what’s happening,” said one source familiar with talks between Warren and Gillum.
Warren is a front-runner in the Democratic primary and recently passed former Vice President Joe Biden in the RealClearPolitics polling average for the presidential primary. Though Biden has regained his place at the head of the pack, Warren is the only other Democrat in the primary to hold that position.
Gillum, a Democrat, narrowly lost a race to be Florida’s governor to Republican Ron DeSantis in 2018.
The FBI is investigating Gillum’s time as mayor of Tallahassee and has subpoenaed for records of Gillum’s campaign and political committee, as well as records relating to one of Gillum’s donors and a charity he used to work for.
The Florida Commission on Ethics is also investigating allegations Gillum accepted illegal gifts from lobbyists while he was mayor of Tallahassee.
