Bondi Outpaces Two Challengers To Win Second Term

November 5, 2014

Attorney General Pam Bondi had little problem overcoming a steady stream of low key attacks over her management of the office, and won a second four-year term Tuesday.

Bondi, who raised more than twice the money as her competitors and hasn’t been shy about standing with Gov. Rick Scott this past week, overwhelmingly defeated vastly outspent Democrat George Sheldon and Libertarian Bill Wohlsifer on Tuesday.

Bondi, who four years ago rode a Republican wave into the statewide office, has dismissed most of the criticism of her office while telling voters she has cracked down on pill mills and been tough in the fight against synthetic drugs and human trafficking.

In her victory speech Bondi declared “I will remain committed to securing the safety and well-being of every Floridian.”

She campaigned Monday in Tampa with former Gov. Jeb Bush and was celebrating Tuesday evening in Tampa.

Unofficial numbers had Bondi up about 15 percentage points on Sheldon, with Wohlsifer garnering less than 3 percent of the vote.

Sheldon, 67, a former state lawmaker who ran unsuccessfully for education commissioner in 2000, has tried to portray Bondi, a 48-year-old former assistant state attorney from Hillsborough County, as too tied to the ideological right wing of the Republican Party in, and too close to Scott and corporate lobbyists.

But without resources, Sheldon hasn’t able to get a sustained message out to the state’s 10 media markets.

After voting Tuesday morning in Tallahassee, Sheldon told reporters he was proud of his campaign and that the race was “now in the hands of the voters.”

“I’ve tried to stay true to the principles that I’ve tried to stay true to my whole life,” Sheldon said. “And I think we’ve clearly laid out the differences between the attorney general and myself.”

Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant said in a release that Sheldon “made every Florida Democrat proud.

“George stood strong for equal rights, for ratepayers, for consumers — and for returning the office of Attorney General to the people,” Tant said.

Four years ago Bondi won a narrow three-way Republican primary before topping Democrat Dave Aronberg by 18 points.

Bondi, who appeared at numerous campaign stops with her 175-pound St. Bernard, Luke, also commands a substantial advantage in name recognition as a frequent guest on cable news and for helping head the legal battle against the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

Bondi raised $2.29 million, including $325,905 in state matching funds, while also getting more than $1.4 million through in-kind assistance mostly from the Republican Party of Florida for campaign costs such as staffing and travel.

Sheldon drew $855,037 in contributions, of which $275,215 was in state matching funds.

Among the Democratic challengers to state Cabinet seats, all three of which are held by Republicans, Sheldon was the only one to receive state matching funds, which are calculated based on contributions of $250 or less that campaigns receive from state residents.

Wohlsifer, 60, an attorney from Tallahassee, raised $23,178 and loaned his campaign $6,755.

The relatively low-key nature of the race has allowed Bondi to sidestep some of her opponents’ biggest criticisms, which include Bondi getting Scott to delay an execution last year because it was scheduled for the same day as her campaign kickoff.

Any shots aimed at Bondi during the campaign’s lone debate garnered little attention as the one-hour event was televised only in the Tampa and Orlando markets.

Sheldon’s lack of money also often limited his campaigning mostly to Tallahassee and Tampa, where he argued that Bondi has failed Floridians through her opposition to same-sex marriage, medical marijuana, automatic restoration of rights for felons and the Affordable Care Act, while doing little to assist utility ratepayers.

Sheldon also tried to score points in the final days of the race by calling attention to a New York Times report last week that focused on the ties between corporate lobbyists and attorneys general. Bondi was prominently featured in the Times report.

by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News