Florida’s crowded field of Republican candidates for U.S. Senate have been trading barbs for weeks, and yesterday was no exception. Take a look at what the Todd Wilcox and Ron DeSantis campaigns had to say about Congressman David Jolly’s decision to stop fundraising and effectively let his Super PAC take the lead.
A spokeswoman for Todd Wilcox labeled the move “Washington hypocrisy” and added: “Jolly’s new-found ethical code conveniently excludes hundreds of thousands of dollars he transferred from his last campaign. As a Washington insider and K Street lobbyist, David Jolly has been part of this problem for 20 years. If this isn’t just another political stunt, he should return every dollar he raised since being elected to Congress. Short of that, Jolly is just another professional politician who promises one thing and then does another.”
A spokesman for Ron DeSantis said: ““You’re not going to beat Patrick Murphy or Alan Grayson, and help keep the U.S. Senate in Republican hands by tying both hands behind your back.”
Not to be left out of the fun, Congressman Jolly abandoned his high road to slam DeSantis in return saying through a spokesperson:
Congressman Desantis’ fundraising numbers only illustrate the problem in congress as detailed by David Jolly today. By missing votes, not reading bills because he was off fundraising and trying to hide that fact when asked, and traveling to Vegas with his hand out raising money, Congressman Desantis is showing the people of Florida that he spends more time meeting with the political elite and fundraisers than he does with the voters or doing his job… Glad-handing does not make you a frontrunner.
“It’s only January, but you wouldn’t know it by how routinely Republican Senate candidates in Florida are going after one another,” said Lauren Passalacqua, DSCC National Press Secretary. “David Jolly’s political stunt is just the latest fodder for the infighting that will continue to drag down these candidates throughout a long primary leaving the eventual nominee damaged.”
