Buchanan launches ‘No Good for Florida’ attack website against Democrat challenger
Less than two weeks before an Election Day showdown, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s campaign is launching a website that goes after his Democrat challenger’s “fumbling campaign.”
The website, announced in a Thursday morning press release, includes a compilation of negative articles and opinion pieces highlighting state Rep. Margaret Good’s campaign issues and voting record.
“These are serious times that require serious leadership. From violating election laws to opposing a bill aimed at protecting children from predators, Margaret has proved incapable of rising to the moment,” Max Goodman, Buchanan’s campaign manager, said in a prepared statement.
The list of articles includes previous reporting on a shakeup with Good’s campaign, months-old polling that shows her campaign trailing Buchanan by 20 points and allegations that the Democrat violated federal election law.
“We thought voters might like to see a partial list of local and national news clippings illustrating Margaret’s fumbling campaign, so we’re making it available under the website www.NoGoodforFlorida.com,” Goodman’s statement continued. “It includes a TV interview in which Margaret gives a truly bizarre response to the question ‘where are you from?’ If she can’t even answer that question candidly, how are we supposed to trust anything she says?”
The video shows Good’s answer to a local news reporter who asked where the Sarasota Democrat is from. Good responds that her father is a fourth-generation Floridian before noting that she was raised in South Carolina and Georgia.
Reached for comment, Good’s campaign called the new website a distraction from the issues that matter in the race. Good makes the same argument in a digital campaign ad released Tuesday.
“Being a representative in Congress is serious business, and Vern Buchanan is showing that he isn’t taking it seriously. This is a truly juvenile attempt to deflect from his record of being named the most corrupt member of Congress five times and cutting to the front of the line to take $7 million in PPP money while small businesses are still struggling,” Alex Koren, Good’s campaign manager, said in a prepared statement.
“While Vern wastes times with these silly distractions, Margaret is going to keep talking about the issues that matter to voters,” he added.
Koren also notes that many of the articles on the anti-Good website are produced by a publication owned and operated by Extensive Enterprise, which Buchanan’s campaign has paid more than $45,000 for advertising throughout the campaign cycle. A Bradenton Herald Letter to the Editor is also linked on the website.
Buchanan’s website isn’t the first time a negative web page has popped up in the race to represent Florida’s 16th Congressional District, which includes Manatee County and parts of Sarasota and Hillsborough counties.
In June, the Florida Democratic Party announced their own attack website against Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, highlighting the seven-term congressman’s “broken promises.”
Good and Buchanan are set to participate in their first and only debate at noon Friday.
This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 2:51 PM.
