Sonny Perdue: Florida Gubernatorial Race ‘So Cotton-Pickin' Important’
Perdue is country's agriculture secretary. The phrase was also used by Trump’s former deputy campaign manager while talking to a black guest on Fox News earlier this year.

Alexander Drago/Reuters
At a Saturday rally for Florida’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, President Trump’s top agriculture official called the state’s election “so cotton-pickin' important,” Politico reports. “Public policy matters. Leadership matters,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue reportedly said at a Saturday Lakeland rally. “And that is why this election is so cotton-pickin' important to the state of Florida. I hope you all don’t mess it up.” DeSantis’ campaign declined to comment on Perdue’s remarks to Politico, but said it was “happy” he was on the campaign. Trump’s former deputy campaign manager, David Bossie, also used the term while talking to a black guest on Fox News this year. “You’re out of your cotton-pickin' mind,” Bossie said. DeSantis’ opponent, Andrew Gillum, has previously been a target of racist comments and campaigns—including DeSantis telling voters not to “monkey” up the election.
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