Andrew Gillum, the former Florida gubernatorial candidate who came close to making history as the state’s first Black governor, is facing new legal trouble after being arrested on drug possession charges in Alabama.
Gillum, 46, was taken into custody on July 2 in Daphne — a city located about 11 miles east of Mobile along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. The Daphne Police Department says officers pulled him over for erratic driving and, after spotting a glass pipe on the center console, conducted a probable cause search of his vehicle.
During that search, police say they found several rolled marijuana cigarettes along with three packages of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. Gillum now faces charges of marijuana possession and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Jail records indicate he was released the following day, July 3.
Court records in the case were not yet available, according to the Baldwin County Clerk of Court’s office. Information on legal representation for Gillum was also not immediately available, and a message seeking comment was left with the local district attorney’s office.
The arrest occurred around 10:45 p.m., according to a Daphne Police Department news release.
Gillum currently co-hosts the politically focused Native Land Pod, which earned the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding News and Information Podcast in 2025. A message seeking comment was left with the podcast’s production company.
Gillum served as mayor of Florida’s capital city from 2014 to 2018 before launching his gubernatorial campaign. In the 2018 election, he fell short of defeating Republican Ron DeSantis by fewer than 34,000 votes — a margin of less than one percentage point.
This is not the first time Gillum has faced public scrutiny over personal conduct. In 2020, he was discovered in a Miami Beach hotel room alongside a man who had apparently overdosed on drugs. At the time, police said Gillum was too intoxicated to speak about what had happened. The man survived, and no criminal charges were filed related to the overdose.
Following that incident, Gillum stepped away from public life for several months while undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse and depression. He later opened up about his struggles in a television interview.
“So much of my recovery has been about trying to get over shame,” Gillum said during an appearance on the Tamron Hall talk show in September 2020.
In 2022, Gillum was indicted on federal conspiracy and wire fraud charges. Prosecutors alleged he funneled tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions through outside parties back to himself for personal expenses. A trial held in 2023 ended with a hung jury on those charges. He was acquitted on separate charges that he had lied to undercover FBI agents who were posing as real estate developers and had paid for a 2016 trip he took with his brother to New York — covering hotel stays, meals, a boat tour, and a ticket to the Broadway production of “Hamilton.”
