King throws his hat into the Florida governors race

The Orlando businessman, King seeks to be the Democratic nominee

Yesterday Chris King, a very successful businessman from Orlando announced his intentions to seek the Democratic nomination for governor.  He hopes to defeat the Republican nominee for Florida’s highest office, whoever that person may be.

We know that it won’t be Gov. Rick Scott, who can’t seek re-election due to term limits, so the race is wide open in 2018.

His biggest competition will come from a rising star in the state Democratic Party, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. On the Republican side there are expected to be a number of candidates throw their hats into the ring but as of now no big name GOP member has entered the race.

However, Adam Putnam, who is the state Commissioner of Agriculture is expected to enter the race soon.

As for King, his he seems to relish the role as a political outsider who has never held public office in any capacity. He touts his accomplishments in the business world along with a strong dedication public service.

According to his bio provided to News Talk Florida, he graduated from Harvard University and earned his law degree from the University of Florida.

Also, provided by the King campaign was information on his dedication to several charitable efforts to serve their community including the Elevation Scholars program, which provides college scholarship opportunities to low-income students in Orange County. The Elevation Global Initiative funds family farming and environmental efforts in Haiti, entrepreneurship training in East Africa and prisoner rehabilitation in US prisons. He also helped launch the Elevation Academy, a school in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo that serves 700 low-income students.

According to his bio King attributes his commitment to service to his family and faith. His father, David King, led the successful battle against illegal gerrymandering in Florida. His mother has been an advocate for patient-first healthcare for 30 years, serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Orlando Health, a non-profit family of hospitals in Central Florida, and as one of the early founders and first chairman of Grace Medical Home, an award-winning free and charitable clinic in Orlando.

News Talk Florida will keep you posted on all of those candidates running for governor no matter if they are Democrats or Republicans.

 

Jim Williams is the Washington Bureau Chief, Digital Director as well as the Director of Special Projects for Genesis Communications. He is starting his third year as part of the team. This is Williams 40th year in the media business, and in that time he has served in a number of capacities. He is a seven time Emmy Award winning television producer, director, writer and executive. He has developed four regional sports networks, directed over 2,000 live sporting events including basketball, football, baseball hockey, soccer and even polo to name a few sports. Major events include three Olympic Games, two World Cups, two World Series, six NBA Playoffs, four Stanley Cup Playoffs, four NCAA Men’s National Basketball Championship Tournaments (March Madness), two Super Bowl and over a dozen college bowl games. On the entertainment side Williams was involved s and directed over 500 concerts for Showtime, Pay Per View and MTV Networks.