South Floridians, Democrats, Republicans and people without party affiliation, and even those who are not eligible to vote are expressing disgust with a series of “extremely, disparaging, negative” ads launched by the Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Desantis against his Democrat Opponent and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.
Shocked and surprised
Residents of Boca Raton, Florida who indicated they are Republicans, said they are “shocked and surprised” that they must have seen only one ad from the DeSantis campaign that offers a message to what he plans to do if he is elected governor. “We don’t even really know what this candidate stands for.”
Another Republican supporter said, “We support the Republican agenda, but we are concerned about these rapid-fire , frequent negative ads against Gillum. To be truthful they smack of desperation by our Republican candidate.”
“I have nor problem with negative ads. That’s the nature of the political beast. But the ads must be so negative that they come out as character assassination,” said a Miramar resident who said he has no party affiliation.
Inherent spite and slander
A Democratic supporter in South Miami said she’s “appalled by the inherent spite, and slander” in ads being run by the DeSantis campaign over the last two weeks. “It is obvious that the DeSantis campaign is desperate to destroy the character of Gillum,” one supporter said
“These ads are so obviously slander and vitriol and seems deliberately constructed to be negative and damaging. The ads appear so frequently that they are having the opposite effect. They are giving some people the incentive to vote for Gillum, not against him,” said another Democratic supporter in West Kendall, Florida.
Several leaders of the Democratic Party in Florida have come out expressing their disgust with the negative ad campaign against Andrew Gillum.
| Statement from U.S. Representatives Frederica Wilson and Al Lawson on Ron DeSantis’ False Attack Ad
“Ron DeSantis’ newest, blatantly false attack on Mayor Gillum, as he prepared his city for one of the most dangerous storms to hit the Panhandle in the last century, is absolutely despicable. NOT the subject of ANY FBI probe As has been stated dozens of times, the Mayor is not the subject of any FBI probe. Rather, Andrew Gillum is in Tallahassee leading his city’s response to the storm, and is working to protect residents from his community and neighboring areas. When Floridians should be focused on safety first, Ron DeSantis is working overtime to lie to them. Ron DeSantis’ false attack ad should come down immediately. This should be a moment when we all come together and look out for one another. Today, Ron DeSantis has demonstrated his inability to do just that and has displayed instead a disqualifying lack of leadership.” Statement from FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo: DeSantis Should Take Down False Ad In Every Market in The State
“Ron DeSantis is shameless. Not only has DeSantis exploited a hurricane, his latest attack ad is so offensive and false that he was forced to take it off the air in North Florida. Now, it’s time for Ron DeSantis to pull down this false ad across the state and apologize to the people of Florida for running a disgusting campaign based on lies and dirty smears.” |
