While there are some interesting legislative contests, this is an underwhelming primary season in Florida and it starts at the top.
Rick Scott will have no problem running over his no-name challengers on the Republican side. The only question left with the Democrats is how wide will Charlie Crist's margin be over Nan Rich? Things arent much better on the congressional front where some of the most competitive primaries are in seats safe for the other party.
The only competitive primary at the state level is the George Sheldon-Perry Thurston match-up to see who takes on Pam Bondi. Neither has impressed in terms of fundraising or in making much of an impression in the primary. What little polling there has been in the race shows most Florida Democrats are undecided and have little familiarity with either of the candidates.
Sheldon and Thurston have been forced to deal with other matters besides hitting the campaign trail in the last weeks of the primary, which has only added to their problems. In recent weeks, Sheldon faced questions about his eligibility to be attorney general stemming from his time in Washington as part of the Obama administration. It was only at the end of last week that the matter was settled with a Leon County judge ruling that Sheldon was eligible to be on the ballot.
But Thurston had matters of his own to deal with, stemming from redistricting. Thurston was back in Tallahassee leading Democrats in the Florida House as the Legislature wrestled with redistricting during a special session. Barred from fundraising when the Legislature is in session, he lost precious time in the final days of the campaign to raise some much-needed campaign cash. Even once the session ended, Thurston was forced to Tallahassee to testify Wednesday in the latest round of redistricting hearings before Judge Terry Lewis.
In the final days of the campaign, both candidates are picking up the pace. Thurston has a bus hes using, new literature and has been phone-banking heavily. Sheldon has also been increasingly busy with campaign appearances and fundraisers across the state.
But both men are behind the eight ball. Bondi has raised 10 times as much as the two Democrats combined and she has a strong head start even with pugnacious Libertarian Bill Wohlsifer in the race. Add into the mix outside groups ready to help her and Bondi has a solid lead. Neither Sheldon nor Thurston has shown anything close to gaining momentum in this contest, though both men seem to have honed their lines of attack to use against Bondi.
Bondi has her weak spots, of course, and whoever wins the Democratic primary will hit her from the left on gay marriage, medical marijuana and Obamacare. Theyll also point to the gaffes and missteps shes made in Tallahassee. But, to catch her, they're going to have to take their game to a higher ground than they're playing on now and where they've been in their political careers. So far, neither has shown much in the way of signs that they are ready to step up to the next level.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
