Former Dem Golden Boy Arrested Again Just Three Years After He Was Let Off The Hook

Former Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum was arrested last week in Alabama on multiple drug charges, marking the latest legal setback for the one-time Democratic rising star whose political career has unraveled since narrowly losing the 2018 governor’s race to Republican Ron DeSantis.

Gillum, 46, was booked Thursday in Baldwin County, Alabama, on charges of possession of dangerous drugs, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records. He was later released after posting a combined $6,500 bond. Authorities have not disclosed what led to the arrest or identified the drugs involved.

The arrest comes eight years after Gillum appeared poised to become one of the Democratic Party’s brightest national figures. After upsetting the Democratic establishment to win the party’s gubernatorial nomination in 2018, the then-Tallahassee mayor lost to DeSantis by roughly 30,000 votes in one of the closest statewide races in Florida history.

Instead of becoming the face of a Democratic resurgence in Florida, Gillum’s post-election years have been dominated by personal scandals, ethics investigations, and criminal proceedings.

In 2020, Miami Beach police found Gillum intoxicated inside a South Beach hotel room with a male escort after emergency responders were called over concerns that another man had overdosed. Officers recovered suspected methamphetamine and prescription pill bottles from the room, though prosecutors ultimately declined to file charges because they could not establish ownership of the drugs.

Gillum later entered rehabilitation, saying he had developed an alcohol dependency after his election defeat.

“This has been a wake-up call for me,” Gillum said at the time. “Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse.”

Gillum’s legal troubles continued in 2022, when federal prosecutors accused him of conspiracy, wire fraud, and making false statements as part of an alleged campaign finance scheme. While a jury acquitted him on one count in 2023, the remaining charges ended in a mistrial. Separately, the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that Gillum violated state ethics laws by accepting gifts from undercover FBI agents posing as developers. He later agreed to pay a $5,000 civil fine to resolve most of the allegations.

Under Alabama law, possession of dangerous drugs is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $7,500 fine. The marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges are misdemeanors that can each carry up to one year in jail if convicted.