Andrew Gillum, the former Tallahassee mayor who came close to winning the Florida governorship as a Democrat in 2018, was arrested in Baldwin County Alabama last week on drug charges, including a felony that could carry prison time.
Gillum, 46, was pulled over just before 11 p.m. on July 2 on U.S. Highway 98 in Daphne after officers saw him driving erratically, according to a news release from Daphne Police Chief Brian Gulsby.
An officer spotted a glass pipe on the center console, which gave police probable cause to search the vehicle.
Officers recovered several rolled marijuana cigarettes and three packages of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, police said.
Gillum was booked into the Daphne City Jail and then transported to the Baldwin County Correctional Facility on charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. Jail records show he was released the next day after his bond was set at a combined $6,500.
The controlled substance charge is a felony that carries up to five years in prison and a fine under Alabama law.
The charges remain allegations, and Gillum is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The arrest is the latest chapter in a long fall for a man once seen as a rising Democratic star.
Gillum served as Tallahassee mayor from 2014 to 2018 before winning the Democratic nomination for governor, knocking off establishment favorite and former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham in the primary. He lost the general election to Ron DeSantis by roughly 32,000 votes, one of the closest governor’s races in Florida history.
His troubles mounted after that defeat. In March 2020, Miami Beach police found Gillum unresponsive in a hotel room where officers reported finding suspected methamphetamine. Gillum was not charged, said he had been drinking, and denied using meth. He later entered rehab, citing depression and alcohol abuse.
In 2022, Gillum was indicted on federal fraud charges tied to his campaign finances. A jury acquitted him on one count and deadlocked on the rest, and prosecutors moved to dismiss the remaining charges in 2023.
As of Tuesday morning, Gillum has not publicly commented on the Alabama arrest.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
