(CNN) Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue described the stakes of the Florida governor's election on Tuesday as being "cotton-pickin' important" at a campaign event on Saturday for Republican Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis is running against Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who is African-American.

"Public policy matters. Leadership matters. And that is why this election is so cotton-pickin' important to the state of Florida," Perdue, a former governor of Georgia, told supporters in Lakeland. "I hope you all don't mess it up."

When asked on Sunday what his response was to Perdue's comment, Gillum laughed and told CNN, "He should go back to Georgia. We'll take care of Florida."

"Listen, we're trying our very best to end this race on a high note," Gillum continued. "As I have said throughout the campaign, we're working to give voters something that they can vote for and not just against."

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