MIAMI – Republican candidate for Florida governor Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, passed through South Florida’s most prominent political portal Thursday afternoon, less than a week ahead of the midterm election.
The two met with and greeted supporters at the Versailles restaurant in Little Havana -- an act considered a right of political passage.
"I stand with the people of Cuba. I want to see an indictment of Raul Castro," DeSantis told the crowd.
Security was tight as a large number of fiercely loyal Republican Latinos came out to meet the candidate for governor.
DeSantis, Rubio and other Republican candidates had a cafecito and then spoke to the crowd about why Desantis should be Florida's next governor.
"Andrew Gillum, who is Ron Desantis' opponent, wants our state to adopt the policies of states that people are fleeing," Rubio said.
Earlier in the morning, the two attended a community outreach event in Kendall.
They met with religious leaders at the Alpha & Omega Church at 10 a.m. DeSantis implored the group of pastors attending to speak with their congregations on Sunday and ask them to vote for him.
DeSantis has been in a very tight race for governor with Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, and the closer it gets to Election Day, the more mudslinging has been done by both campaigns.
At the fellowship gathering on Thursday morning, DeSantis once again went after Gillum's moral character and spoke about God.
"I am also the the only candidate who is not being investigated by the FBI for corruption," DeSantis said.