MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Alex Sink was about as low-key as she could be when she got in the governor's race, but her first major event since then was quite the opposite.

Sink addressed a crowd of about 1,100 Democratic Party activists and supporters a little more than two weeks after simply issuing a press release saying she was running for governor. She was greeted with an extended ovation before making her first major address as a candidate for the state's top office.

"With the challenges that we face, the status quo has got to go," Sink told the crowd, referring to the GOP's complete control of state government since 1999. "It's just no longer OK to keep doing things the same old way."

The event, the Florida Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraiser, was seen as a celebration of President Barack Obama's victory last November, an opportunity to highlight its top elected officials and a look ahead to the 2010 election, when five statewide seats will be open.

But Sink, who is now the state's chief financial officer, was obviously the star of the evening. She is the only major Democrat in the race and many see her as the best hope the party has of winning the governor's mansion since Lawton Chiles won re-election in 1994.

"Over the next 20 months we will fight to elect CFO Alex Sink to the governor's office so we can have a new and different kind of leader," said state party Chairwoman Karen Thurman. "By electing Alex as our next governor, we get a working mom with 30 years business experience who understands how to clean up the mess the Republicans created in Tallahassee and get Florida moving again."

Sink, who turns 61 next week, is in her first term as CFO - the watchdog on billions of dollars in state spending. She retired a decade ago as the president of Bank of America's Florida operations.

"We haven't had a candidate that we've all been behind early in a long time. She's got the right balance to her public service and her private service," Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said before the event. "It is going to be let's all get behind Alex. You've got a bunch of Democrats who are very pleased we have a good, moderate Democrat at the top of the ticket. I'm excited to have someone of her caliber leading the way."

Attorney General Bill McCollum is the only major Republican in the race to replace Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running for U.S. Senate instead of seeking a second term.

Sink told the crowd about growing up on a farm in North Carolina, where she wrote her father's checks and balanced his accounts.

"On the farm there is always a time to turn the soil and you also have to rotate the crops and plant anew every year," Sink said. "In recent years, state government in Tallahassee hasn't been very much like that farm I grew up on. They simply don't turn the soil and plant the seeds of new ideas or new leadership that we so desperately need in our state Capitol."

Also at the event, state Sen. Dan Gelber dropped out of the U.S. Senate race, leaving U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami as the top Democratic candidate. Gelber said he would instead consider running for one of the three open Cabinet seats. The best fit for the former federal prosecutor would be attorney general.

"It speaks to Dan Gelber, he has a big heart," Meek said after the event. "I'm not in the business of clearing fields or saying who can run and who can't run, but I can tell you that campaigns are very expensive. We have 11 media markets in the state of Florida, we have 19 million people to reach, and in this economy it's important that we spend as few dollars as possible in the primary to make sure in the general we're competitive."

Even with Gelber out, Meek may have more primary competition soon. U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown of Jacksonville said she wants to run for Senate and plans to make a decision in the next two weeks.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, who is also the Virginia governor, poked fun at Crist's Senate run during his keynote address, saying he's abandoning Florida.

"I understand your current governor has decided that he's had enough after a couple of years. The economy is tough, and there's tough decisions to be made and he wants to leave those to somebody else. Hey, we're glad to take it," Kaine said. "We do very well at coming in to tough situations that others have left."

With all five statewide seats on the ballot open - Senate, governor and three Cabinet positions - Thurman also noted the importance of the 2010 election.

"We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to change Florida," Thurman said. "Change starts here. Change starts now. Let's go change Florida."