TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- In the four years since easily riding a Republican wave into the attorney general's office, Pam Bondi has cracked down on pills mills, the ever-evolving field of synthetic drugs and human trafficking.
Those issues have been the hallmark of her re-election campaign against Democrat George Sheldon and Libertarian Bill Wohlsifer, who contend Bondi has failed to truly represent all Floridians on other issues such as utility rates.
And while Sheldon and Wohlsifer have said they would offer dramatically different approaches as attorney general, Bondi is better-funded and commands more name recognition as she runs for a second term.
Those edges in fundraising and recognition are key factors in the attorney-general race, which has received less attention than this year' gubernatorial election and a ballot fight about legalizing medical marijuana. The relatively low-key nature of the race also has allowed Bondi to avoid some of her challengers' biggest criticisms of her term, such as getting Gov. Rick Scott to delay an execution last year because it was scheduled for the same day as her campaign kickoff.
Without constant media attention, the attorney-general contest, particularly Sheldon's fate, hinges in large part on the performance of former Gov. Charlie Crist, the Democratic candidate for governor, University of South Florida political-science professor Susan MacManus said.
"For years, political scientists were showing more and more people were voting a split ticket, but as the political polarization of the country has increased, people have started voting straight ticket again," MacManus said. "And if we have a low turnout, which in a mid-term turnout drops, you're more likely to get people to vote who identify with either party."
Bondi, 48, a Tampa Republican who worked as an assistant state attorney in Hillsborough County before running for statewide office, has built her brand by being a frequent guest on FOX News and helping lead a legal battle against the federal Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
Sheldon, 67, is a former state lawmaker who ran unsuccessfully for education commissioner in 2000 and currently lives in Tallahassee. He served as a state deputy attorney general before becoming secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families under Crist. He also served as acting assistant secretary for children and families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services before entering the attorney-general race.
Wohlsifer, 60, is an attorney from Tallahassee who was once a Republican and senior assistant general counsel for the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Sheldon has often commended Bondi for her efforts to crack down on human trafficking and drugs, which he notes offer little political risk. But Sheldon also contends Bondi has failed Floridians through her opposition to same-sex marriage, medical marijuana, automatic restoration of rights for felons and the Affordable Care Act, while doing little to assist utility ratepayers.
"The attorney general needs to be the people's lawyer," Sheldon said. "She has 400 lawyers in that office, she needs to untie their hands and allow them to be engaged in these utility rate increases."
Bondi said voters have a choice between her and a "career politician" in Sheldon.
"For the last two years he's been a Washington insider," Bondi said of Sheldon. "This is about a Floridian working for you to make this the safest state to live, work and raise a family."
Sheldon wanted a series of debates across the state, but Bondi agreed to only one, which was broadcast in the Tampa and Orlando markets.
Meanwhile, Bondi's fundraising edge has enabled her to run a pair of positive TV ads that highlight her crime-prevention efforts. Through Oct. 3 she had raised slightly more than $2 million for her campaign account, while getting another $1.26 million in-kind support, with the Republican Party of Florida paying for expenses such as staffing.
Sheldon had raised nearly $700,000 for his campaign account as of Oct. 3, while Wohlsifer had totaled less than $19,000.
