Daphne, Ala. – Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum was arrested on July 2 in Daphne, Alabama, on charges of marijuana possession and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, according to the Daphne Police Department. Jail records indicate he was released on July 3.
Police stated that officers pulled Gillum over for erratic driving around 10:45 p.m. During the stop, an officer noticed a glass pipe on the center console, prompting a probable cause search. The search reportedly uncovered several rolled marijuana cigarettes and three packages containing a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine.
Court records for Gillum’s case were not immediately available, and information regarding an attorney for Gillum could not be confirmed.
Gillum, 46, who previously served as mayor of Tallahassee from 2014 to 2018, was the Democratic nominee for Florida governor in 2018. He narrowly lost to Republican Ron DeSantis by less than a percentage point, a race where he was considered a rising figure in the party.
This arrest marks the latest legal challenge for Gillum. In 2020, he was involved in an incident in a Miami Beach hotel room where a man was found to have apparently overdosed on drugs. At the time, police reported Gillum was too inebriated to discuss the events. The man survived, and no charges were filed regarding the overdose. Gillum subsequently withdrew from public life for a period to seek treatment for alcohol abuse and depression.
In 2022, Gillum was indicted on federal conspiracy and wire fraud charges, accused of diverting campaign donations for personal use. A trial in 2023 resulted in a hung jury on those charges and an acquittal on accusations of lying to undercover FBI agents.