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Can Andrew Gillum's ground game win him the Democratic nomination for governor?

If Andrew Gillum is going to win Tuesday's Democratic primary for governor, he'll have to prove most polls wrong.

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By
Kirby Wilson
, Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Bay Times

If Andrew Gillum is going to win Tuesday's Democratic primary for governor, he'll have to prove most polls wrong.

A few national progressive organizations that are backing Gillum's run for the state's highest office have activated door knocking and canvassing efforts to try to ensure he does just that.

This week alone in Tampa Bay, both Indivisible, which launched after the 2016 presidential election, and NextGen America, the group founded by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, are engaging in a slew of activities aimed at getting Gillum the Democratic nomination.

Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, is joining volunteers in Temple Terrace this weekend to canvass with volunteers on behalf of Gillum. And volunteers with NextGen America are embarking on a door knocking campaign of their own in Tampa Bay this weekend.

"We are committed to throwing the weight of our movement behind Mayor Gillum," Indivisible Project co-executive director Leah Greenberg said in a release this week.

Indivisible has already spent thousands on voter outreach and digital advertising, reaching tens of thousands of voters.

Earlier this week, a coalition of eight progressive groups, including Collective PAC, Our Revolution and People for the American Way, announced they were pooling $3.5 million in organizing resources in a coordinated effort to get Gillum elected.

Whether that work can carry Gillum to victory remains to be seen. Although one internal poll this week showed Gillum had shot to the top of the field the week after his rallies with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, most surveys have shown Gillum in the middle of the pack in the competitive Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Flak over hack

A conservative leaning watchdog group filed an ethics complaint Thursday against Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, contending he discussed classified information or made it up.

FACT, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, is seeking an ethics investigation into Nelson's comments two weeks ago that Russians have "penetrated" some county election systems in Florida.

"This is nothing more than a politically motivated attack by a politically motivated group trying to create a political sideshow," said Nelson spokesman Ryan Brown.

Greene pulls ads

After blanketing Florida for months with TV commercials, gubernatorial candidate Jeff Greene is taking down his ads in the final days before Florida's primary election.

Greene's campaign had previously denied speculation that the South Florida billionaire was going dark on television, telling the Tampa Bay Times Wednesday that ads were running through Monday. But a day later, campaign spokeswoman Claire VanSusteren confirmed that Greene had stopped running commercials Thursday.

"We've gotten our message out big with TV ad buys at a time when audiences were paying attention," VanSusteren said.

Times Washington Bureau Chief Alex Leary and Miami Herald staff writer David Smiley contributed to this report.

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