Florida Republicans Stoop to New Lows in Attacks Ahead of Election Day

Attacks that are being called “desperate” and “outrageous” are coming from Florida Republicans against Democrats ahead of Election Day.

In one of the nastiest, most distasteful ads to hit the Orlando area, Florida Republicans attacked Karen Castor Dentel, who is running for state house against Rep. Scott Plakon. The mailer attempted to link Castor Dentel, a public school teacher, to child molester Jerry Sandusky. It has offended voters and not one Republican is willing to defend this attack. Even incoming Speaker of the House Will Weatherford had to try to distance himself from the ad which his contributions helped pay for. “This ad is completely inappropriate. I do not condone it and it has no place in the campaign,” Weatherford said on Twitter.

This attack shows that Democrat Karen Castor Dentel is threatening Plakon in the Longwood state house district, making this race one of the tightest House races in the state this year.

But the disgraceful attacks are not limited to one race. The Florida Republican Party and Ross Spano, Republican running in State House District 59 against Democrat Gail Gottlieb, blanketed voters in the 59th District with a mailer with images of a bomb-throwing terrorist and threatening demonstrators, saying that “Gail Gottlieb is trying to bring her radical chaos to Eastern Hillsborough County.”

“It offends me that Ross Spano, my opponent, is portraying me as a terrorist for standing up for the middle class and small businesses and wanting to end corruption in Tallahassee,” said Gail Gottlieb, the Democratic candidate for the Florida State House 59th District, which includes Brandon, Riverview, Valrico, and surrounding areas. “People can have honest differences of opinion about how best to serve Floridians, but this is the kind of inflammatory campaigning that has turned so many people off of politics.”

“This mailer from Ross Spano is disgraceful and offensive, and is a bigoted attack against a strong woman candidate who has thoughtful ideas to improve the quality of life of the people of Brandon, Riverview, Valrico, and all of Florida,” said Chris Mitchell, chairman of the Hillsborough County Democratic Party. “Campaigns can be tough, but the Republican Party of Florida is way out of bounds in this despicable effort to slander a qualified woman leader.”

“I grew up in Brandon and know that the voters of eastern Hillsborough County are good people who want leaders with ideas, not candidates who focus on throwing mud,” Gottlieb added. “My goal is to represent all the people of district 59, to listen to those with opposing views, and to focus on building a strong economy with good schools, transportation, and other services for the families of my community.”

Gail Gottlieb has won the endorsement of both major area newspapers, The Tampa Bay Times and The Tampa Tribune, in her race.