Andrew Gillum Arrested in Alabama on Drug Possession Charges
A 2018 major-party gubernatorial nominee now faces state drug charges, adding a legal dimension to a political career that ended amid a 2020 federal fraud indictment and a 2023 acquittal on most...
Andrew Gillum, the 2018 Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee, was arrested on Thursday, July 3, 2026, in Daphne, Alabama, and booked into the Baldwin County jail on charges of possession of dangerous drugs, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, according to publicly available Baldwin County jail records. He was released the same day. The specific circumstances of the arrest — including the arresting agency and the precise location — were not detailed in the jail records available as of publication. A copy of the arresting officer's report, obtainable through the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office under Alabama public records law, would provide that detail.
Gillum narrowly lost the 2018 Florida gubernatorial race to Ron DeSantis by a margin of approximately 32,000 votes out of roughly 8.2 million cast, according to the Florida Division of Elections certified results. That race was among the closest statewide contests in Florida history at the time.
In 2020, federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida charged Gillum with 21 counts including wire fraud and conspiracy, related to alleged misuse of campaign funds and charitable contributions (Case No. 4:21-cr-00005). In August 2023, a federal jury acquitted Gillum on two counts and deadlocked on the remaining counts. The Department of Justice subsequently declined to retry the case, and the charges were dismissed, according to the court docket.
Gillum previously served as Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, from 2014 to 2019, and briefly worked as a political commentator for CNN following his 2018 electoral loss. CNN confirmed his departure from that role in 2020 following the federal indictment, per contemporaneous network statements.
What remains unknown as of publication: the name of the arresting law enforcement agency, the quantity of substances alleged, and whether any prosecutorial action will be pursued by Baldwin County. The Baldwin County District Attorney's case filing records, once updated, would reflect whether formal charges are brought.