2010 Qualified Candidates for Florida Elected Office–Comprehensive Report

Subsequent to the June 18, 2010, qualifying deadline for the November 2, 2010, general election, Colodny Fass has prepared a summary report of candidates who qualified for the following offices:  

• Florida Cabinet (Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer and Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services)
• Florida Senate
• Florida House of Representatives
• U.S. Senate (Florida)
• U.S. Congress (Florida)

Colodny Fass’ election report, which is attached for review, provides biographical information for each candidate, including previous elected positions held, occupation and residence, as well as current numbers for funds raised and expended.

What originally was shaping up to be a fairly uneventful campaign cycle took a dramatic turn during the two months preceding the qualifying deadline.

At that time, an unprecedented number of candidates who had not previously filed to run for elected office were officially qualified to do so by the State of Florida.  In the closing hours of June 18, a record number of Republican incumbent State Legislators found themselves being challenged by Tea Party candidates.

Now, less than two months before the August 24, 2010, Primary Election, these candidates will have significantly less time to identify themselves and thus, will be at a disadvantage with fundraising.

In the Governor’s race for the Republican nomination, newcomer and multi-millionaire Rick Scott (R) has catapulted himself into the lead over Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum (R) by self-financing his campaign.  Having already spent millions on television ads, Mr. Scott (R) has identified himself as the “anti-incumbent” candidate, which is emerging as a very popular position in this election cycle.

In the general election, Bud Chiles (NPA), the son of former Florida Governor Lawton Chiles (D), has entered the race as a “No Party Affiliation” candidate.   Recent polling in this race has indicated that his presence is helping the Republican side of the ticket, leading to a negative impact on Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink (D), the current leader for the Democratic Party nominee.

In the race for Chief Financial Officer, State Representative Pat Patterson (R) had filed to run for office.  Even though he had stated a week before the qualifying deadline that he was going to stay in the race to challenge Senate President Jeff Atwater (R), he ultimately did not qualify and withdrew from the race.  This action allowed Senator Atwater (R), also a Republican candidate, the ability to focus on the November 2 General Election against former State Representative Loranne Ausley (D).

Of all the statewide races for a position on Florida’s Cabinet, the election for Attorney General is widely considered to be undecided at this point on both sides of the ticket.

After Florida Governor Charlie Crist (NPA) announced he would no longer run for United States Senator as a Republican, recent polls show him with a slight lead over all of the other candidates in this race.  Former Speaker of the Florida House, Marco Rubio (R), who was expected to beat Governor Crist (NPA) in the Republican Primary, is currently trailing the Governor in a three-way race.

To view the report, click on the attachment file.

Should you have any comments or questions, please contact Colodny Fass.