The UF College Democrats and College Republicans both held tailgates with a purpose before Saturday’s football game.
The Democrats tailgated under a blue tent near Library East to help campaign for candidates.
Originally, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink was scheduled to make an appearance and join in the pre-game festivities, but she had to cancel at the last minute.
Erin Murphy, vice president of the College Democrats, said she is sure Sink’s campaign will stop at UF before the Nov. 2 election.
Voters met two other candidates at the tailgate instead.
Jon Paugh, a candidate for Florida House of Representatives District 22 is only 27 years old but said he wants to make a difference in the state.
“I have three boys, and what I witnessed as a teacher teaching economics, and seeing how Florida operates made me decide I wanted to bring the right policies to Florida.”
Perry McGriff Jr., 73, who is running against Sen. Steven Oelrich for State Senate District 14, which encompass 8 counties and includes all of Alachua County, also went to the tailgate.
After graduating from UF and playing football and baseball for the Gators in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he stayed close to Gainesville. McGriff served as mayor, Chairman of the Alachua County Commission and remains a season ticket holder for Gator football.
Scott Maddox, the Democratic candidate for commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, was also supposed to be at the tailgate but got stuck in traffic.
However, he did make it to the game but left immediately after to start a 12-day bus tour of South Florida.
In a phone interview, he said the best thing he can do for college students is make sure there are jobs for them when they graduate, which he hopes to accomplish by creating green jobs in Florida.
Not far away from the Democrats, the UF College Republicans competed for party exposure at their own tailgate.
Keith Perry, Jon Paugh’s opponent in District 22, was there, and signs for other republican candidates created a border around the tailgate tent.
But in addition to campaigning, the Republicans were also there to guard the 2,977 flags of the 9/11: Never Forget Project on the south side of the Plaza of the Americas.
Carly Wilson, chairwoman of the College Republicans, said one tailgater tried to put a satellite in the center of the memorial, between the nine and the eleven, which are spelled out in flags. She said he complained when the College Republicans asked him to move the satellite.
She said many fans were frustrated that they couldn’t use the space to tailgate, but hundreds of UF and USF fans passed by the Sept. 11 memorial, stopped in reflection and asked for 9/11: Never Forget pins.
“It’s a reflection of what we do here,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the USF College Republicans were supposed to join the UF Republicans. None of them were able to buy tickets, so they didn’t make it to Gainesville. Plus, she added, “they didn’t want to see their team be slaughtered up here.”
