Democratic candidate Andrew Korge, looking for a district where he can win, offered state Sen. Dwight Bullard $25,000 if he would get out of the way and move to a different Senate District, Sunshine State News has learned.
In fact, the $25,000 offer was the second of a number of proposals Korge made to Bullard to secure what he hoped would be a clear path to the Florida Senate in November.
Bullard, D-Cutler Bay, said Wednesday he would have none of it and turned Korge down flat.
Leslie Wimes, president and CEO of the Democratic African American Women's Caucus, confirmed Korge's effort to "buy" Bullard out of the way.
"Andrew Korge called me, we had a conversation and he told me he offered Dwight $25,000 to move to District 38," Wimes said Wednesday.
In a telephone interview with SSN, Korge admitted he was no longer in the District 39 race against Sen. Anitere Flores, that he had switched his district to run in SD 40. That will put him up against Bullard and former state Rep. Ana Rivas Logan.
Bullard, a teacher who has served in the Florida Legislature since 2008, told SSN his new primary opponent had been trying to work his way into the race, suggesting first that Bullard move from SD 40 to SD 38, and then have another candidate (presumably Rivas Logan) move to SD 39 so he could run in SD 40 unopposed.
“He’s come at it from various angles,” Bullard explained.
Bullard said when he didn’t bite on switching districts, Korge then offered him the cash to go away.
“I told my adviser, 'You can tell him to take that money and shove it where the sun is not permanent,'" Bullard recalled.
It wouldn’t have been the first time Korge tried to take out an opponent to leave his path to Tallahassee clear. His former opponent in SD 39, Daniel Horton, dropped out of that race last month after speaking with Korge and Democratic Party officials, instead opting to run for the Florida House.
Korge wanted out of any race against Sen. Anitere Flores, a Republican fundraising dynamo who is one of the party’s top contenders for reelection. The battle against Flores would have been a bridge too far for Korge, who likely would have been outspent nearly 7-to-1.
In a recent interview with the Miami Herald, Flores tried to put Korge into perspective. "A year and a half ago, this was a kid running for a safe Democratic seat on the beach. Then he changes to run in Congress. Now he made a decision to run against an incumbent," Flores said, talking about herself. "It sounds to me that things just aren’t going his way, because he’s used to getting support from Democratic circles."
Korge is the son of Hillary Clinton donor and prominent Democratic fundraiser Chris Korge. Andrew Korge did contemplate a run for Congress for about a month earlier this year but never filed, and because of state Senate redistricting, the map of district lines changed, affecting where Korge -- and a slew of other candidates statewide -- would choose to run.
Most other candidates have found their places by now. Korge apparently is still shopping for his. Instead of continuing in the race against Flores, where he would have been the underdog, Korge went in a different direction.
The South Florida business consultant has been fundraising furiously over the last few months, posting some of the top fundraising numbers for May. Korge comes from a wealthy family, well-connected in Democratic circles over the years.
His father, Chris Korge hosted ritzy fundraisers for the Clintons at his Pinecrest mansion. He dined at the White House. President Bill Clinton had been a guest in his home.
But Andrew Korge told SSN he knows what it’s like to be part of a family where it’s tough to make ends meet.
“I’ve seen what it’s like to have a family that struggles,” he told SSN. “I saw with my own eyes the struggles my aunt had. I want to fight for people who are hardworking Americans ... who want to live a decent life.”
Korge says he wants to bring Florida into the 21st century by creating high-wage jobs, helping Florida students learn what they’ll need to succeed in the modern world.
“I want to enter public service and build a brighter future in the next generation, and for me the best opportunity to do that is in SD 40 where I grew up and spent half of my life,” he said.
But to his opponents, specifically Bullard, Korge’s "whatever it takes" attitude doesn’t reflect well on the Democratic Party.
“He should no longer have the audacity to refer to himself as a Democrat when he participates in such behaviors,” Bullard said. “In my opinion, that’s very undemocratic.”
State Democrats are not happy over Korge's decision.
“They’re embarrassed at what Andrew’s doing,” Bullard told SSN. “To be frank, with him running against Sen. Flores, with him now removing himself [from] that scenario, those dollars dedicated to [fighting] her could negatively impact Democratic races around the state. Leadership is quite upset with him for doing this move.”
The Miami Herald reported Wednesday other Democrats said they were “disappointed” with Korge’s decision to move into the primary.
“I told him not to move,” Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, told the Herald. Braynon is set to become the Senate Democratic leader starting in November. He also chairs the Senate Victory political committee which helps elect Democrats to that chamber.
“This whole hopping around the map finding a place to run is really unprecedented for someone to feel as though their money should grant them immediate access to the Florida Senate,” said Bullard. “It shows an extreme level of selfishness on the part of [Korge] to cold-heartedly give up competition against a Republican to get into a Democratic primary against two other candidates, all because of his rationale [that] he thinks he can win this race easier.”
Korge says he hasn’t had much discussion with state party officials, and instead said he’s going to focus on knocking on doors and reaching the people in SD 40.
“This is going to be a grassroots campaign that folks haven’t seen before in a state senate primary,” he told SSN. “I love knocking on doors, it’s way better than begging your friends for money."
Said Bullard, “I think [Korge's decision to run in SD 40] is a folly on his part, but he will have to find that out the hard way. Other candidates have underestimated my abilities ...”
Reach Allison Nielsen at allison@sunshinestatenews.com. Nancy Smith (228-282-2423) contributed to this story.
