Just days after Kendrick Meek took to the airwaves with his first TV ad in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary, he’s back with another hard-hitting spot. Like his first ad, which came out Monday, Meek’s latest effort goes for the throat of billionaire opponent Jeff Greene, who’s depicted in the ad as a big spender running a dishonest campaign. “Jeff Greene can buy anything,” the ad begins, “except the truth.”
The line’s not only a populist zinger, but also a nod to Greene’s financial advantage in the race, which until this week had enabled him to blanket the state with TV spots that Meek’s campaign couldn’t afford to answer. The Meek campaign — which on Wednesday claimed to have earned the financial backing of national Democratic party organizations — has not yet disclosed the scope of its latest ad buy. But since Monday, when Meek’s first ad went on the air, the Greene campaign has already struck back with two new spots, both mudslingers that accuse Meek of corruption.
Unsurprisingly, Meek’s latest ad disputes the charges. It then proceeds to slam Greene for betting on the collapse of the housing market while working on Wall Street. “Jeff Greene profited…on suffering,” the ad concludes. (A similar line was used in Meek’s last ad, which attacked Greene for “betting on suffering.”)
The scant polling that exists has shown the Democratic primary to be a close one, with Greene topping Meek in the TPM Poll Average 30.0%-26.0%. In general election polling, both candidates trail Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (I) and Marco Rubio ( R). Meek and Greene also suffer from low favorable numbers. They have until August 24 — the date of the primary — to duke it out.
Watch the ad:
