After a poll came out earlier this week showing most Florida Republicans remain in the dark about their candidates, the GOP’s party hopefuls looking to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took to the airwaves to introduce themselves.
U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., launched a new TV ad on Thursday, the first of the campaign in which he takes aim at former U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, the favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“As a Navy veteran, former prosecutor, and proven conservative, I know that public officials in both parties need to be held accountable, especially when their conduct puts public safety at risk,” DeSantis said on Thursday. “This accountability starts with Hillary Clinton and her use of a private email server while secretary of State. With more than 2,000 classified emails found on Secretary Clinton’s server and news of a former State Department staffer being granted immunity, Secretary Clinton must face the consequences for her actions.”
Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera also launched a new Web video this week as he continues his bid for the Republican nod. In the first Web video, Lopez-Cantera offers something of a biographical introduction, showcasing how his parents fled communist Cuba.
In the meantime, some of the other Republican hopefuls are also trying to introduce themselves to voters who are far more focused on the presidential race. Businessman Carlos Beruff formally launched his bid for the Republican nomination this week and spent the first days of the race crossing the state but also drawing fire from his Democratic and Republican rivals.
Responding to these attacks, on Wednesday, Chris Hartline, a spokesman for Beruff, looked to reinforce his candidate’s “conservative outsider” message.
“Nothing creates bipartisanship among politicians quite like an outsider challenging the political establishment,” Hartline said. “Republicans and Democrats alike are clearly terrified of facing a true conservative outsider like Carlos Beruff, which is why they’ve teamed up to try to take him down. But like the people of Florida, Carlos Beruff is fed up with the political class and their empty promises and is ready to shake up Washington.”
Earlier this week, Public Policy Polling (PPP) released a poll showing almost half of Florida Republicans--47 percent--remain undecided while 26 percent back U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., 14 percent are for DeSantis, 11 percent support Lopez-Cantera and 2 percent are for businessman Todd Wilcox. Beruff was not included in the poll. The poll found Florida Republicans are mostly in the dark on the candidates with at least 70 percent of them not sure how they feel about the various hopefuls.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
