LZ Granderson is a journalist and political analyst. He was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and the Hechinger Institute at Columbia University, and is a co-host of ESPN's SportsNation and ESPN LA 710's Mornings with Keyshawn, Jorge and LZ. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @lzgranderson. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.

(CNN) White people linking black people to monkeys has been a racist trope for centuries.

That's why when Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for governor, used the phrase "monkey this up" when talking about the handling of the economy by his black Democratic opponent, it was hard to believe that the word choice was an accident.

LZ Granderson

Andrew Gillum, the youngest person ever elected to the Tallahassee City Commission, and the current mayor of the city, would be the state's first black governor if elected. Every Sunshine State voter knows this. So why would DeSantis -- a Yale and Harvard graduate -- make such a well-documented, racially-charged remark on the opening day of the gubernatorial competition?

One school of thought is that it's a dog whistle to rally white nationalists to the polls. Clearly this is what Dems believe, as illustrated by the party's swift response to DeSantis' remarks.

"It's disgusting that Ron DeSantis is launching his general election campaign with racist dog whistles," Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo said in a statement. The sentiment was echoed by David Turner, the Democratic Governors Association deputy communications director, who said that "resorting to dog-whistle politics within hours of winning the GOP nomination shows a desperate candidate who will stoop to new lows in order to court and give voice to fringe elements of society."

Read More