Kendrick Meek, who’s battling billionaire Jeff Greene in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary, is out today with a new television spot, his third of the campaign. Unlike Meek’s first two efforts, negative ads that tore into his opponent’s Wall Street ties, the new ad is cheery, focusing on Meek’s life and career. Greene isn’t mentioned once.
At a time when many Floridians either don’t know who Meek is or view him unfavorably, the new ad is an effort to endear him to voters: his mother is seen in the ad gently ribbing Meek for losing his hair, a state trooper lauds Meek’s performance as a highway patrolman, and a black-and-white photograph depicts Meek shaking Sen. Ted Kennedy’s hand.
Polling of the Democratic primary has been thin, but the latest Quinnipiac poll gives Greene a lead of 33%-23%. Both candidates lag behind Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (I) and Marco Rubio (R) in general election polling. The primary is August 24.
The Meek campaign has not revealed the size of its latest ad buy.
Watch the ad:
