Political ads going after Tom Leek have been running nonstop. He says vengeful trial lawyers are behind the attacks
Tom Leek is a Republican running for an open seat against two other Republicans, including former St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar and Gerry James. Democratic candidate George Hill and unaffiliated candidate Michael Gist are also in the race. Florida State Senate candidate Tom Leek has been targeted by political ads, accusing vengeful trial lawyers of impeding his victory. The political action committee (PAC) called "The Truth Matters" is behind the attacks, and has launched an anti-Leek website: LiberalLeek.com. The PAC raised nearly $3 million in six months mostly from lawyers around the state, mostly from local lawyers. Local news4JAX also found connections between the PAC and former St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar’s campaign. The Republican primary in the race will be on August 20.
ที่ตีพิมพ์ : 10 เดือนที่แล้ว โดย Scott Johnson ใน Politics
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – You have probably seen the ads involving Florida State Senate candidate Tom Leek. They’re hard to avoid if you watch TV.
Leek is a Republican running for an open seat against two other Republicans, including former St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar and Gerry James. Democratic candidate George Hill and unaffiliated candidate Michael Gist are also in the race.
They’re all running in District 7, which represents St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler and part of Volusia counties. The seat will be vacated by term-limited Sen. Travis Hutson, R-St. Augustine.
MORE: Ex-St. Johns County Sheriff Shoar launches campaign for Florida State Senate seat
Shoar entered the race on Friday following weeks of ads that have attacked or defended Leek.
It’s all linked to a political war between Leek and trial lawyers who apparently don’t want him to win.
A political action committee (PAC) called “The Truth Matters” is behind the Leek attack ads. The PAC also launched an anti-Leek website: LiberalLeek.com.
“We’ve got some liberal personal injury lawyers that have decided they want to buy back a seat in the Florida Senate and they want to make this their battleground. I have spent my time in the Florida House of Representatives taking on real big fights against some real big special interests and I knew one day they would come looking for a pound of flesh,” Leek told News4JAX.
Leek said this is happening because he tried to rid the system of what he calls “abusive and fraudulent lawsuits.”
News4JAX dug into who’s funding “The Truth Matters,” and the money came from another PAC, which raised nearly $3 million in six months, mostly from lawyers around the state. That includes a who’s who of local lawyers including Farah & Farah, Pajcic & Pajcic and Wayne Hogan.
News4JAX also found connections between the PAC and Shoar’s campaign. They both have the same campaign treasurer, and Shoar works with the person who is the chair of the PAC.
Daniel Cronrath, a political science professor with FSCJ, said PACS are effective.
“PACs exist because they want to be able to engineer a political outcome which benefits the people funding the PAC. So, if you’re able to follow the money you would be looking at individuals who contribute to PACs because whatever occupation of business they’re in, even in a labor union, there’s a political outcome they’re hoping to influence,” Cronrath said.
The Republican primary in the race will be on Aug. 20.
Leek said he does not have any thoughts on Shoar or the other candidates but said he has the backing of the four county sheriffs in his district, including Shoar’s successor, St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick.
Leek’s website also said he has been endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.