Posts Tagged ‘florida’

From TBO.com:

Pam Bondi has practiced law in Tampa for nearly 20 years, proving herself an accomplished prosecutor in the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office. The frequent television commentator is smart and committed to defending the state as its top lawyer. She should be elected our next attorney general.

She faces an impressive opponent. Dan Gelber of Miami has had a distinguished legal and political career, having worked as a federal prosecutor in Miami and Washington, D.C., and serving the citizens in both the Florida House and Senate. He also is a politician of rare candor.

The attorney general’s job is the second most powerful position in state government, and we’re certain either candidate would work hard for Floridians as chief legal officer and Cabinet member. But in the end, Bondi’s promise, her right-of-center views and her assurance that she is not using the office as a stepping stone to a bigger job convince us that she is the better choice.

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From TampaBay.com:

If you’re looking for a statewide race with substantive differences between the two candidates, your search is over.

In the race for attorney general, Pam Bondi and Dan Gelber provide plenty of contrasts.

They disagree on Obamacare, education, guns and vouchers, and they seem to differ on how to utilize the assets of the office: the bully pulpit, the subpoena, the hundreds of lawyers skilled at chasing down the scammers and ripoff artists that are as much a part of the fabric of Florida as sunshine and orange juice.

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From SunSentinel.com:

Republican Pam Bondi, dubbed the political newbie of the race, and Democrat Dan Gelber, a veteran statesman of Florida politics, will vie to become Florida’s next attorney general after triumphing in Tuesday’s party primaries.

Gelber, a state senator from Miami Beach, easily won the Democratic Party’s nomination. His record as a leader in the state legislature and as a former government prosecutor appeared to have served him well with voters and put him far ahead of his opponent, Dave Aronberg, of Greenacres, a former state assistant attorney general.

Bondi, 44, a former Hillsborough County prosecutor and frequent guest on Fox News, beat out what some had thought would be Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp’s superior name recognition, causing him to concede the race around 10 p.m. Holly Benson trailed both of them.

If Bondi wins in November, the Tampa resident would become the state’s first female attorney general. An endorsement last week from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whose celebrity power guarantees headlines and online clicks, may have helped put her ahead.

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From the Palm Beach Post:

Florida’s next attorney general will take the lead on Gulf oil damage claims and a pending lawsuit over the federal health care program, but many voters were still undecided between three Republican and two Democratic candidates as Tuesday’s primary election approached.

The Republicans — Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, former Charlie Crist aide Holly Benson and former prosecutor Pam Bondi — have all promised to support Florida’s legal effort to block the federal health care program and support Arizona’s immigration law. The two Democrats, state senators Dave Aronberg and Dan Gelber, are focused on rooting out public corruption and Medicare fraud.

A few high-profile endorsements for the Republican nominees have invigorated the bland race which has been overshadowed by mudslinging in the U.S. Senate and governor’s race.

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From the Miami Herald:

It’s the résumé primary.

Boldly pitching different biographies, five lawyers are fighting for two spots Tuesday in the race to be Florida attorney general.

Three Republicans and two Democrats have duked it out for months in a down-ballot race that has struggled to attract attention from voters distracted by incessant ads by candidates for governor and U.S. Senate.

Republicans will choose from a trio of Holly Benson, 39, of Pensacola, a former state House member who later headed two state agencies under Gov. Charlie Crist; Pam Bondi, 44, of Tampa, a former assistant state attorney in Hillsborough who’s making her first try for public office; and Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, 49, of Fort Myers, a civil lawyer and former legislator and the only candidate in the race who has run statewide.

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From Orlando Sentinel:

Republican former prosecutor Pam Bondi and Democratic state Sen. Dan Gelber have taken narrow leads in their respective primaries for attorney general, according to a Mason-Dixon poll released Friday.

But both races remain in flux as candidates head into the last weekend before Tuesday’s primary, said pollster Brad Coker.

“There is no sure bet in either attorney general primary race,” Coker said. “All of the trailing candidates are within striking distance, particularly given the fact that more voters in each primary say they are ‘undecided’ than are currently backing any one of them.”

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Holly Benson gets Newt’s endorsement:

Holly Benson, Republican Candidate for Florida Attorney General, today announced former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich has endorsed her in her bid to become the next Attorney General of Florida.

“The next Attorney General of Florida will have to take the lead on the lawsuit challenging Obamacare,” said former Speaker Gingrich. “In my opinion, there is no one more qualified to do this than Holly Benson. So today, I am proud to endorse Holly’s candidacy for Florida Attorney General.”

“I’ve worked with Holly, and I know she is a proven conservative that you can trust. Because Holly worked with Governor Jeb Bush to transform Florida’s Medicaid program and served as Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, she is uniquely qualified to understand the dire consequences of Obamacare for our health care system and our Constitution,” continued former Speaker Gingrich.

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And Pam Bondi gets Sarah Palin’s:

Sarah Palin endorsed former Hillsborough prosecutor Pam Bondi for attorney general Wednesday, and Bondi didn’t even know it was coming.

Palin’s surprise endorsement in the three-way Republican primary for attorney general surfaced on Facebook, and Bondi rushed to spread the word ahead of Tuesday’s primary.

The former vice presidential candidate and ex-Alaska governor, who’s expected to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, threw her support to other candidates, all women, in state and local contests in Alabama, Indiana, Missouri and North Carolina.

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From SunShineNews:

“Undecided” is still the leader in the Republican race for attorney general, but the three GOP candidates are each making inroads — especially Jeff Kottkamp, a new Sunshine State News Poll shows.

With just five days until Election Day, the poll shows Lt. Gov. Kottkamp with 29 percent, Hillsborough County prosecutor Pam Bondi at 22 percent and Holly Benson, a former state administrator, garnering 19 percent.

Thirty percent of respondents remain undecided in the survey of 1,000 likely Republican voters conducted Aug. 12-15 by Voter Survey Service for the Sunshine State News Poll. A whopping 55 percent were undecided in last month’s VSS poll.

Today’s poll shows the biggest gains for Kottkamp since VSS’s July 10 survey, which he led by a single percentage point over Bondi. Since then, the lieutenant governor has picked up 12 percentage points while Benson gained 7 points and Bondi added 6.

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