Andrew Gillum Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Andrew Gillum staged an upset in the Democratic primary for Florida governor. The mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, Gillum is married with three children.

He would become Florida’s first African-American governor if he wins the election. Gillum, who was supported by Bernie Sanders, will square off against Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), a Donald Trump supporter. Andrew Gillum’s family is often at his side on the campaign trail, and he’s spoken positively about his mother and father too.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Gillum & His Wife R. Jai Have Three Children Together

Andrew Gillum is the married father of three children.

“He lives with his wife R. Jai and their three children in Tallahassee, Florida,” according to his campaign website. Gillum became Tallahassee’s mayor in 2014 after first being elected to the Tallahassee City Commission as a college student.

Two of the couple’s children are twins whose names are Caroline and Jackson.

R. Jai is an executive director of United Way of the Big Bend’s The BEST Project, which “helps people achieve long-term financial stability and quality of life through services such as tax preparation help.”

2. Gillum’s Mother Drove a School Bus & His Father Was a Construction Worker

On his campaign website, Andrew Gillum highlights his working class roots. His parents are named Charles and Frances Gillum. According to his mayoral bio, Gillum “was raised in Gainesville as the fifth of seven children born to Frances and Charles Gillum. When he graduated from Gainesville High School in 1998, he was recognized by the Gainesville Sun as one of the city’s ‘Persons of the Year.'”

“Andrew was born in Miami where his mother drove a school bus and his father was a construction worker,” the campaign website says.

“He was the first in his family to graduate college and he went on to become the youngest person in history elected to the Tallahassee City Commission, before later becoming Mayor. He has a proud record of 15 years in public service.”

In a moving note he posted on social media, Gillum wrote that he voted for himself, adding, “I voted for that skinny boy playing in the streets of Richmond Heights – clueless as to the many journeys that lay ahead. I voted for the boy who watched his mother and father labor so hard, sometimes struggling to make ends meet. I voted for the kid whose forehead was always greasy from his grandmother’s ‘blessing oil.’ I voted for the boy, who would one day become a man, a husband, father and mayor.”

3. Gillum Met His Wife in College But Their Stories Differ on What Happened When They Met

Andrew Gillum and his wife were college sweethearts.

According to a story in Tallahassee Magazine, the two were classmates at Florida A&M University when they met in the late 1990s “during their days in the Student Government Association.”

“She came in one day with sort of a short skirt on,” Andrew told the magazine, “so I gave her a warning and told her she had to leave the chamber because she was not appropriately dressed.” However, she insisted during the interview that she arrived in a business suit. They didn’t date until later, however, when she was in graduate school, the magazine reported.

4. Andrew Proposed in California’s Wine Country

Tallahassee Magazine presents a romantic image of how Andrew Gillum proposed to his wife.

The proposal occurred in California’s Wine Country, according to the magazine, and it included a horseback ride through a vineyard.

“I got down on one knee and asked her if she would be my life partner,” Andrew told the magazine.

5. Gillum Says He Follows His Mother’s Core Advice About Life

On Twitter, Gillum mentioned his mother, saying he should only ask for one thing in life.

“My mother said the only thing in life you should ever ask for is a chance,” he wrote, and then followed the post up by urging people to vote. “This is our chance. Polls open at 7 AM and close at 7 PM.”