<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rep. <keyword id="10235047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dan-crenshaw">Dan Crenshaw</keyword> on Monday called for a US Olympic athlete to be "removed from the team."</li><li>Crenshaw took issue with hammer thrower <keyword id="3474805" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="gwen-berry">Gwen Berry</keyword>'s protest during the national anthem.</li><li>The Texas Republican has frequently derided cancel culture in media appearances.</li></ul><p>Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas called for one of the top American track and field stars to be "removed from the team" after she protested the national anthem during qualifiers for the upcoming <keyword id="395647" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tokyo-Olympics">Tokyo Olympics</keyword>.</p><p>Gwen Berry, a hammer thrower and world record holder, <a href="https://www.insider.com/gwen-berry-turns-away-from-us-flag-us-Olympic-trials-2021-6">turned her back to the flag during the national anthem over the weekend and held an "activist athlete" t-shirt</a> over her face.</p><p>Crenshaw has frequently derided cancel culture in media appearances on <keyword id="85287" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fox-News">Fox News</keyword> and the podcast circuit, calling it a "radical progressive religion." </p><p>However, in a Fox News appearance on Monday morning, the Texas Republican said Berry should lose her spot for trying to make a political point on the podium.</p><p>"We don't need any more activist athletes," Crenshaw said. "You know, she should be removed from the team. The entire point of the Olympic team is to represent the United States of America. That's the entire point, OK."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Aaron Rupar  (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1409502569420967937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2021</a></blockquote><p>"So it's one thing when these NBA players do it - OK, fine, we'll just stop watching - but now the Olympic team?" he continued. "And it's multiple cases of this. They should be removed. That should be the bare minimum requirement."</p><p>Berry said she was not expecting the anthem to be played during the ceremony at the winner's podium, where she held the third spot with a bronze medal for her performance. "The Star Spangled Banner" isn't usually played after American qualifying meets like it would be with other nations present at the Olympics or other international competitions.</p><p>"I feel like it was set up," she said after the meet. "I feel like they did that on purpose, and I was pissed, to be honest."</p><p>Crenshaw attributed Berry's protest to the academic and legal framework of <keyword id="9892617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Critical-race-theory">critical race theory</keyword>, which examines the effect of racism in laws and policies that have a disproportionate impact on people of color, regardless of intent.</p><p>Critical race theory has increasingly become an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-critical-race-theory-why-is-gop-so-obsessed-2021-6?utmSource=twitter&amp;utmContent=referral&amp;utmTerm=topbar&amp;referrer=twitterrrer=twitter">obsession for Republicans in fundraising and messaging</a> efforts.</p><p>"Taking it a couple levels deeper, this is the pathology that occurs when we're teaching critical race theory in our institutions ... It results in these displays of hatred towards our own country, and it's gotta stop," Crenshaw said.</p><p>American Olympians have long used their visibility to draw attention to political and social causes, most notably with the <a href="https://www.history.com/news/black-athletes-raise-fists-1968-olympics">1968 Olympics "Black power" salute</a> from track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos.</p><p>Later in a press conference following the meet, Berry said her role as an athlete is secondary to fighting racism.</p><p>"I don't need to do anything sport-wise," she said. "What I need to do is speak for my community, to represent my community, and to help my community. Because that's more important than <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword>."</p>

Rep. Dan Crenshaw calls for Olympic athlete Gwen Berry to be 'removed from the team' for national anthem protest

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gwen Berry turned from the American Flags as the "Star-Spangled Banner" played during the U.S <keyword id="11932" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Olympic">Olympic</keyword> trials. </li><li>"I feel like it was set up," Berry said, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/26/gwen-berry-protest-olympic-trials/">Washington Post </a>reported. </li><li>Berry also placed a Black t-shirt over her head that said "Activist Athlete."</li></ul><p>Gwen Berry, a 31-year-old Olympic hammer thrower, pivoted away from the U.S flag while the national anthem was playing at the track and field trials in <keyword id="94113" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oregon">Oregon</keyword> on Saturday, according to reports. </p><p>While standing on the podium to receive a bronze medal during the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, the anthem started to play prompting Berry to turn away facing the stands. She then placed a black t-shirt over her head, the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-olympic-games-sports-2e9911837edab52ac4ddd8a5d02a714e?utm_medium=AP_Sports&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlowcialFlow">Associated Press reported</a>.</p><p>The words on her shirt had a phrase in bold white letters that said: "Activist Athlete." The other two athletes, Brooke Andersen and DeAnna Price remained on the podium facing the flag.</p><p>The Associated Press reported that the anthem is not usually played at the Olympic trials when the athletes receive their medals. However, the award ceremony occurred just prior to the start of the session in the evening, when the anthem is usually played. </p><p>"I feel like it was set up. I feel like they did that on purpose, and I was pissed, to be honest," Berry said, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/26/gwen-berry-protest-olympic-trials/">Washington Post </a>reported. "I was thinking about what should I do. Eventually, I just stayed there and just swayed. I put my shirt over my head. It was real disrespectful. I know they did that on purpose, but it'll be all right. I see what's up."</p><div type="image" title="Olympic hammer thrower, Gwen Berry, places Black t-shirt that says: “Activist Athlete” over her head at U.S. Olympic Trials on Saturday." height="3393" width="5090" msid="83907486" hostid="261"></div><p>"It was funny because they said they were going to play it before we walked out," Berry said, according to the Post. </p><p>"The national anthem was scheduled to play at 5:20 p.m. today. We didn't wait until the athletes were on the podium for the hammer throw awards," a spokesperson USA Track and Field representative told the AP. "The national anthem is played every day according to a previously published schedule."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Gwen Berry  (@MzBerryThrows) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1409213201967849480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2021</a></blockquote><p>Berry has been consistent with her activism. The Washington Post reported that she put up her fist on the stage at the Pan-American Games in 2019.</p><p> The Tokyo Olympic qualifier said her purpose goes beyond sports, according to the Associated Press. </p><p>"I don't need to do anything sport-wise," she said, according to the AP. "What I need to do is speak for my community, to represent my community, and to help my community. Because that's more important than sports."</p>

'Activist athlete' Gwen Berry says she felt 'set-up' when she turned her back to the US flag during the national anthem at Olympic trials

<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP" title_caption="Gal Gadot will play Wonder Woman in the untitled " Batman="" Superman="" movie="" out="" class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52cdaa216da8113463d9e061-960/gal-gadot-fast-and-furious-6-premiere-4.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52cdaa216da8113463d9e061-1200-924/gal-gadot-fast-and-furious-6-premiere-4.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="gal gadot fast and furious 6 premiere" width="480" /></a><p class="source">Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP</p><p class="caption">Gal Gadot will play Wonder Woman in the untitled "Batman/Superman" movie out 2015.</p></div></div></p>
<p class="p1">Ever since <keyword id="6367276" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jennifer-Lawrence">Jennifer Lawrence</keyword> stepped into the role of Katniss Everdeen in 2012's "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/" target="_blank">The Hunger Games</a>" the number of strong, independent superheroines has exploded on the big screen. </p>
<p class="p2">Amy Adams and Emma Stone's portrayals of Lois Lane ("Man of Steel") and Gwen Stacy ("The Amazing Spider-Man") are a far cry from damsels in distress. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p class="p1">In 2015, Elizabeth Olsen <a href="http://marvel.com/news/movies/2013/11/25/21563/official_elizabeth_olsen_aaron_taylor-johnson_join_avengers_age_of_ultron"><span class="s1">will join</span></a> <keyword id="47501" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marvel">Marvel</keyword>'s "Avengers" sequel as the Scarlet Witch while Gal Gadot gears up as the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/batman-superman-gal-gadot-wonder-woman-2013-12"><span class="s1">new Wonder Woman in the big "Batman / Superman" movie</span></a>. </p>
<p class="p1">But they weren't the first to bring famous comic characters to life on screen.</p>
<p class="p1">*<em>Note: We are aware Lois Lane, Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane aren't technically superheroines, but their characters are too iconic to leave off the list.</em></p>

THEN & NOW: 18 Actresses Who Played Iconic Superheroes And Villains

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e18ef7ab2e66a30222ad447-2400/gettyimages-1171458210.jpg" alt="Gwen Berry" /><ul class="summary-list"><li>The International Olympic Committee (IOC) <a href="https://www.olympic.org/-/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/News/2020/01/Rule-50-Guidelines-Tokyo-2020.pdf">issued new guidelines</a> for the 2020 Games in Tokyo on Thursday that ban athletes from making political, religious, and ethnic demonstrations. </li><li>The committee said examples of demonstrations include taking a knee during a national anthem, displaying political messages, and refusing to respect fellow medalists.  </li><li>The rule bans athletes from making such demonstrations on fields of play, during ceremonies, and in the Olympic Village, but said athletes could express their views in interviews and on social media. </li><li>The IOC said it would discipline athletes on a case-by-case basis if they violate the new rules. </li><li>US hammer thrower Gwen Berry, who was <a href="https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2019/08/20/race-imboden-gwen-berry-podium-protests-pan-am-games/">put on probation for 12 months after raising her fist</a> on the podium at the Pan American Games last year, criticized the new rules in a comment to Insider. </li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is banning political, religious, and ethnic demonstrations from medal ceremonies at the 2020 Tokyo Games.</p><p><a href="https://www.olympic.org/-/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/News/2020/01/Rule-50-Guidelines-Tokyo-2020.pdf">New guidelines issued on Thursday</a> prohibit athletes from taking a knee during a national anthem, making political hand gestures, displaying political messages, and refusing to respect fellow medalists.</p><p>The IOC said they would discipline athletes who fail to follow the guidelines would on a case-by-case basis. The IOC would not go into detail as to what kind of discipline a person could face in a request for comment from Insider.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e18f179b2e66a31a9454943-2086/ap18271673423825.jpg" alt="In this October 16, 1968 file photo, extending gloved hands skyward in a Black power salute as a form of racial protest, U.S. athletes Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos stare downward during the playing of national anthem after Smith received the gold and Carlos the bronze for the 200 meter run at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City." />The rule bans athletes from such protests in the field of play, in the Olympic Village. It also prohibits gestures while on podiums, as American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos did at the Mexico City Games in 1968 when they raised their fists during the national anthem.<p>More recently, US hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised her fist after winning gold at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, while American gold medalist fencer Race Imboden took a knee during another Pan Am award ceremony. Berry, a 2016 Olympian who, along with Imboden, was <a href="https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2019/08/20/race-imboden-gwen-berry-podium-protests-pan-am-games/">put on probation for 12 months</a> following their demonstrations, criticized the new guidelines in an interview with Insider, saying the IOC is "silencing" athletes.</p><h2>US hammer thrower and 2016 Olympian Gwen Berry called the new rule a 'form of control'</h2><p>"I do understand why the IOC put this rule in place because they are trying to keep sports sports ... People tune in to watch athletes compete against different athletes from different countries," Berry said. "However, I do feel like it is a form of control because if athletes aren't free to express themselves at any level, it is silencing them."</p><p>If Berry qualifies for the 2020 Olympics, she could face disciplinary action if she raises her fist again. But she told Insider she doesn't regret doing it at the Pan Am Games. </p><p>"I felt emotional. I felt proud," she said. "I feel like I did something to show where I stand, to show I am for the people who have no voice. I am for the people who are forgotten. I am for the people who are unjustly treated in any country, any community. I am for those people."</p><p>In its new guidelines, the IOC says that expressing views is different than protesting and urged athletes not to be silent on "issues you care deeply about."</p><h2>The IOC said it wants the Olympics to send a 'uniquely positive' message to an 'increasingly divided world'</h2><p>But as a whole, the IOC said they want to keep the Olympics "uniquely positive" and free from politics. </p><p>"We believe that the example we set by competing with the world's best while living in harmony in the Olympic Village is a uniquely positive message to send to an increasingly divided world," the IOC said in a statement detailing the guidelines. "This is why it is important, on both a personal and a global level, that we keep the venues, the Olympic Village and the podium neutral and free from any form of political, religious, or ethnic demonstrations."</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e18f1cab2e66a31fe390a1a-2400/2017-08-05t100215z1260595930up1ed850rvry2rtrmadp3athletics-world-wht.jpg" alt="Gwen Berry competes in the World Athletics Championships in London in 2017." /><p>IOC President Thomas Bach stood by the new guidelines on Friday, saying that the Olympics "are not and must never be a platform to advance political or any other divisive ends."</p><p>"Our political neutrality is undermined whenever organizations or individuals attempt to use the Olympic Games as a stage for their own agendas, as legitimate as they may be," he said to an audience in Lausanne, Switzerland, <a href="https://apnews.com/b931c8a5ed379bcc59c922b2d8cb8e2f">according to the Associated Press</a>.</p><p>Despite Bach's comment, boycotts and protests have <a href="https://www.britannica.com/list/7-significant-political-events-at-the-olympic-games">had a role in the Olympics for many decades</a>.</p><p>Dozens of countries threatened to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Berlin-1936-Olympic-Games">boycott the 1936 Games in Nazi Germany</a>. In the end, 49 countries attended. </p><p>In 1948, Germany and Japan were banned from taking place in the London Olympics, the first Games after World War II.</p><p>In 1956, Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq boycotted the Melbourne Olympic Games to protest Israel's invasion of the Sinai Peninsula. The Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland also pulled out of the 1956 Games after the Soviet army invaded Budapest, Hungary, just weeks before the opening ceremony.</p><p>Smith and Carlos's protest came in the 1968 Games in Mexico City. They raised their fists during the men's 200-meter award ceremony in protest of the treatment of black people in the US.</p><p>At the 1976 Olympic Games, nearly two dozen countries, mainly from Africa, boycotted when the IOC refused to ban New Zealand over its apartheid policies.</p><p>"Politics have been a part of the Olympics for as long as I can remember," Berry told Insider. "If you think about all of the Olympic Games where politics infiltrated, you could take it back to 1936, 1948, 1956. There's always been some type of political influence in the Olympic Games."</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tokyo-olympic-village-beds-made-cardboard-recyclable-2020-1">The beds at the Tokyo Olympic village will be made of cardboard that organizers say is stronger than wood and can be recycled later</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/esports-olympics-ioc-pro-video-games-2019-12">Games like 'League of Legends' and 'Fortnite' dominate the world of esports, but they won't be showing up at the Olympics anytime soon</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hotels-japan-where-to-stay-accommodation-luxury-travel-2019-12">Japan is developing 50 luxury hotels to cash in on the 40 million visitors it expects next year, and it signals that the country's hotel boom is finally hitting its stride</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-wins-reported-500-million-partnership-for-the-2020-tokyo-olympics-2019-11">Airbnb is sponsoring the Olympics until 2028 for a reported $500 million</a></li></ul>

The International Olympic Committee is banning athletes from making political gestures at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, and one US hammer thrower says it's a 'form of control'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The International Olympic Committee is standing by its rule banning athletes from protesting on the podium heading into the Summer <keyword id="6360967" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="olympics">Olympics</keyword> next year.</li><li>USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland announced on Monday that she would be "creating an athlete-led group to challenge the rules and systems in our own organization that create barriers to progress, including your right to protest."</li><li>The moment marks a shift for <keyword id="418425" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Team-USA">Team USA</keyword>, as Hirshland had put two athletes on probation in the past year for demonstrations they made on the podium at the Pan American Games.</li><li>With many leagues and governing bodies around the <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword> world now embracing player protests, it's possible more changes are coming before the Opening Ceremonies begin in the summer of 2021.</li></ul><p>The International Olympic Committee is holding firm to its rule that bans athletes from demonstrating on the podium.</p><p>On Tuesday, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/2020/06/09/athletes-taking-knee-tokyo-2021-olympics-paralympics-face-bans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the IOC confirmed to the Telegraph's Ben Bloom</a> that when it comes to players protesting during medal ceremonies — in the form of kneeling, raising a fist, or other gestures — "the guidelines are still in place."</p><p>While <keyword id="6354733" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ioc">IOC</keyword>'s statement could be seen as simply reiterating a policy that was already established, it comes at a time when <a href="https://www.insider.com/george-floyd-death-athletes-speak-up-make-powerful-gestures-2020-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the sports world at large appears to be turning a corner</a> when it comes to player protest in response to the death of George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police in late May.</p><p>NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-roger-goodell-says-nfl-was-wrong-colin-kaepernick-2020-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offered a mea culpa on the league's resistance to peaceful player protest</a> last week, saying, "We the National Football League admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier, and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest."</p><p>US Soccer <a href="https://www.insider.com/us-soccer-considers-repealing-rapinoe-inspired-anthem-kneeling-ban-2020-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is considering repealing its ban on kneeling during the national anthem</a> that was established in 2017. The movement isn't just taking place in the United States, with <a href="https://www.insider.com/george-floyd-death-athletes-speak-up-make-powerful-gestures-2020-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soccer clubs across Europe demonstrating solidarity</a> with the ongoing protests taking place after the death of Floyd.</p><p>Despite the IOC's insistence that the rule will still be in place when the Summer Olympics take place in 2021, Team USA is still making an effort to enact change. On Monday night, Sarah Hirshland, the USOPC's chief executive, wrote on Twitter that she was "creating an athlete-led group to challenge the rules and systems in our own organization that create barriers to progress, including your right to protest."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Sarah Hirshland  (@USOPC_CEO) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1270156826881884160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2020</a></blockquote><p>In the past year alone, a few American athletes have already faced punishments for their decision to protest on the podium. Hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised a fist as the final notes of the national anthem played after she won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games, and fencer Race Imboden took a knee on the podium.</p><p>At the time, Hirshland sent both athletes letters to inform them they were put on probation for 12 months. "It is also important for me to point out that, going forward, issuing a reprimand to other athletes in a similar instance is insufficient," Hirshland wrote.</p><p>Hirshland's shift on Monday came after she took part in town hall discussions with athletes last week. "They listened to the people who spoke up and who shared their stories, especially athletes from the black community," ­Imboden said, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/06/09/us-olympic-officials-take-step-support-protesting-athletes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Washington Post</a>. "They called for change. The USOC is listening. Hopefully, this will be widespread and go deep and break some of those roots of systematic racism and systematic problems that are in every organization, including the USOC."</p><p>"It's encouraging," Berry said of the USOPC's announcement, per the Washington Post. "I think it demonstrates that athletes' peaceful protesting is powerful and it can promote change. It's a step in the right direction. We need to challenge the rule."</p><p>Given how quickly many sports have shifted to embrace the protests of players, including Hirshland's announcement on Monday, there could still be plenty more changes to come before Opening Ceremonies in Tokyo next summer.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/colin-kaepernick-wants-to-play-in-nfl-supporters-2020-6">Colin Kaepernick is reportedly still determined to play in the NFL, and the calls for a comeback are growing louder</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/michael-thomas-bryndon-minter-nick-toney-black-lives-matter-video-2020-6">How a 'rogue' NFL employee teamed up with Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas to help create a video that would compel the league to say 'Black Lives Matter'</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/shaquille-oneal-saints-drew-brees-comments-2020-6">Shaquille O'Neal spoke to the Saints in the wake of Drew Brees' controversial comments and urged them not to be divided</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/us-soccer-considers-repealing-rapinoe-inspired-anthem-kneeling-ban-2020-6">US Soccer is considering repealing its ban on kneeling during the national anthem, setting the stage for another showdown between Trump and Megan Rapinoe</a></p>

The Olympics is standing by the ban on athletes protesting, but Team USA wants to give its athletes the right to kneel or raise a fist

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table lead-image-large"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b869b802154a33c008b55b4-2000/2018-08-29t015305z1lynxnpee7s035rtroptp4usa-election.jpg" border="0" alt="Andrew Gillum florida" data-mce-source="Chris Aluka Berry/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Tallahassee, Florida Mayor, Andrew D. Gillum addresses the audience at the Netroots Nation annual conference for political progressives in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. August 10, 2017."><p class="source"><span>Chris Aluka Berry/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Tallahassee, Florida Mayor, Andrew D. Gillum addresses the audience at the Netroots Nation annual conference for political progressives in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. August 10, 2017.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>On Tuesday, Floridians picked Tallahassee's progressive black mayor, Andrew Gillum, and right-wing hardliner,&#xa0;Rep. Ron DeSantis, to face off in the governor's race this fall.</strong></li><li><strong>Both candidates defeated establishment favorites - Gillum with the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders, and DeSantis with President Donald Trump's endorsement. </strong></li><li><strong>Many see what will undoubtedly be a polarizing general election as a proxy war between Sanders and Trump.</strong></li></ul><hr><p>On Tuesday, Floridians picked their first-ever black nominee for governor,&#xa0;Tallahassee mayor&#xa0;Andrew Gillum, and a right-wing hardliner,&#xa0;Rep. Ron DeSantis, to battle it out for leadership of the country's largest swing state.&#xa0;</p><p>Both candidates defeated establishment favorites - Gillum with the support of the left-wing of the Democratic Party, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, and DeSantis with President Donald Trump's strong endorsement.</p><p>Gillum's win was a surprise - his strongest pre-election poll had him at 16% of the Democratic vote (he ended up with 33%) and he was <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/08/29/642883960/5-takeaways-from-a-surprise-win-in-florida-and-a-nasty-race-in-arizona">far outspent by his multi-millionaire opponents</a>, the strongest of whom spent $12.5 million to Gillum's $2.5 million.&#xa0;</p><p>And while DeSantis's victory over state agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam was expected, he managed to secure a 20-point lead while also being outspent - two-to-one - by his opponent.</p><p>GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak called both wins "shocking."&#xa0;</p><p>"Nobody would have predicted a DeSantis versus Gillum general election&#xa0;six months ago," he said.&#xa0;</p><p>The candidates - both married 39-year-old dads of young children - are running on radically different agendas in the country's third-most populous state.</p><p>DeSantis, a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus who saturated his campaign with mention of Trump's support, campaigned on his military background and deeply conservative stances on abortion, gun rights, and illegal immigration. Gillum, the son of a bus driver and construction worker, highlighted his working-class roots, with promises to invest heavily in the state's public schools and fight for stricter gun regulations and Medicare-for-all.&#xa0;</p><p>While gubernatorial candidates are often characterized by their centrism, Florida is yet more proof of the ascendance of the progressive left and Trumpian right this year.&#xa0;</p><h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b86a6b604f16219008b5738-1280/gettyimages-1008610704.jpg" border="0" alt="Rep. Ron DeSantis with President Donald Trump at a Florida rally in July." style="font-size: 15px;" data-mce-source="Joe Raedle/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Rep. Ron DeSantis with President Donald Trump at a Florida rally in July."><p class="source"><span>Joe Raedle/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Rep. Ron DeSantis with President Donald Trump at a Florida rally in July.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h2><h2>A Sanders-Trump proxy war?&#xa0;</h2><p>Some are calling the general election race a proxy war between Sanders, who endorsed and campaigned with Gillum, and Trump.&#xa0;</p><p>While Gillum ran to the left of Democratic Rep.&#xa0;Gwen Graham, the primary front-runner and daughter of a former Florida governor and US senator, he was also a 2016 delegate for Hillary Clinton and <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/10/18/hacked-emails-gillum-clinton-vp-contender/92351918/">appeared on an early list</a> of Clinton's potential vice presidential picks.&#xa0;</p><p>Still, the mayor ran on a deeply progressive platform, which included the elimination of Immigration and Customs Enforcement - a call that's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/abolish-ice-gains-steam-amid-trump-border-crackdown-2018-6">gaining traction on the left</a> - and Medicare-for-all. His win - along with other <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-won-beat-joe-crawley-2018-6">insurgent upsets</a> - is a remarkable testament to the rejection of Clinton-style centrism in the Democratic Party. Also on Tuesday, Arizona Democrat&#xa0;David Garcia, a progressive who supports&#xa0;Medicare-for-all, clinched the party's gubernatorial nomination in that state.</p><p><span>In Florida, centrist Democrats lost the last two gubernatorial races by less than a single point to Republican Gov. Rick Scott.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>"If Florida voters want an antidote to Trumpism, Andrew Gillium fits it. He's not part of the Trump-DC-swamp but, instead, a mayor who got stuff done," said Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist and top spokesman for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.</span></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b86aa432154a37f5f8b53b3-909/screen%20shot%202018-08-29%20at%2095416%20am.png" border="0" alt="Rep. Ron DeSantis with his daughter in a campaign ad." data-mce-source="Screenshot/Ron DeSantis for Governor" data-mce-caption="Rep. Ron DeSantis with his daughter in a campaign ad."><p class="source"><span>Screenshot/Ron DeSantis for Governor</span></p><p class="caption">Rep. Ron DeSantis with his daughter in a campaign ad.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p><span>Republicans are already characterizing Gillum as far left of Florida's mainstream. Trump&#xa0;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-gillum-trump-tweet-florida-governor-democratic-candidate-2018-8">called the mayor</a> a "failed Socialist ... who has allowed crime &amp; many other problems to flourish in his city" in a Wednesday morning tweet, and the Republican Governors Association on Tuesday called Gillum a "radical far-left politician."</span></p><p><span>Gillum, for his part, has attempted to frame his progressive solutions to polarizing issues like healthcare and criminal justice reform as pragmatic, a-political, "commonsensical" solutions that will appeal to Floridians across the ideological spectrum.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Meanwhile, DeSantis recently released <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BYgM7yWgkY&amp;feature=youtu.be">an ad</a> poking fun at his own attempts to tie himself to Trump. In it, DeSantis's wife explains that while "people say Ron's all Trump ... he is so much more," while the congressman "builds a wall" with his toddler daughter and reads Trump's "The Art of the Deal" aloud to his son.</span><span></span></p><h2><span>A 2020 test</span></h2><p>Given DeSantis's close ties to the president, the race in Florida this fall will undoubtedly become a referendum on Trump's presidency and a test of the progressive movement's strength in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election.</p><p>But Mackowiak noted that midterm turnout is traditionally quite different - older, more conservative-leaning, and less racially diverse - than presidential election turnout. He argued that Gillum will need to pivot more to the center than DeSantis will.&#xa0;</p><p>"Florida's a Republican state, period," he said. "Obama was able to flip it, he was a unique candidate ... but in a midterm election year I don't think there's a question that it's a Republican state."&#xa0;</p><p>Florida's Democratic primary will also likely mirror the battle between progressive and centrist candidates on the left in 2020. In what will likely be a 2020 primary, Democrats will face the challenge of uniting themselves behind a single candidate. The situation is similar in Florida, where four other Democrats spent tens of millions competing against Gillum.&#xa0;</p><p>While it's unclear how nationalized the race will become,&#xa0; it will certainly be one of the most important - and closely-watched - of the cycle.</p><p data-elm-loc="6">"We're going to make clear to the rest of the world that the dark days that we've been under coming out of Washington, that the derision and the division that have been coming out of our White House, that right here in the state of Florida we are going to remind this nation of what is truly the American way," Gillum told his supporters on Tuesday night.</p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Cz4EqoeHJTA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kaman-kmax-helicopter-intermeshing-dual-crossing-rotors-2018-8">An aerospace company reintroduced its precision helicopter with two crossing motors</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/9H9Han1r-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div></hr>

The governor's race in the biggest swing state in the US has become a proxy war between Bernie Sanders and Trump - and it could signal what's to come in 2020

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The governor's race in the biggest swing state in the US has become a proxy war between Bernie Sanders and Trump - and it could signal what's to come in 2020

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