The Republican Party of Florida released a campaign ad slamming Democratic candidate Jose Javier Rodriguez for being soft on crime and public safety in his bid for Florida Attorney General.
The ad, titled "Dangerous," was shared on social media.
"Jose Rodriguez wants to be Florida's attorney general, our top cop. But when every Republican and every Democrat voted to fund our police and prisons, Rodriguez was the only one to vote no," the ad says.
The ad references Florida's 2018 General Appropriations Act (HB 5001) for its claim, which Rodriguez, then as a State Senator in the Legislature, voted against. The vote was 33-1.
In addition, the ad attacks Rodriguez for sponsoring a cash bail reform bill in the Legislature. More specifically, the bill would have made it easier for arrested individuals to be released while awaiting trial.
The bill died in the Senate.
"Then he wrote the bill to eliminate bail for dangerous crimes. Thugs who abuse seniors, fentanyl dealers even attempted murderers set free," the ad says. "Jose Rodriguez. Against funding our police. For releasing criminals. Not fit to be top cop."
Gov. Ron DeSantis, referencing the bill, called Rodriguez a "huge, huge dirtbag" for sponsoring the legislation while speaking at an Amendment 3 roundtable with Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero Stutz last week.
"I looked at his record. I didn't know who he was. He wrote the bill in the state of Florida to eliminate cash bail," DeSantis said. "That means all these scumbags that they're working so hard – Rosie and her team – to bring in habitual offenders, they get put right back on the street, just like they're in Illinois or Los Angeles or all these other places where they have decay."
"You want the inmates running the asylum? This is the type of guy they will get if he gets elected," DeSantis said.
In addition, Gov. DeSantis ripped Rodriguez for voting against paying law enforcement and working as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training in the Biden administration – and vowed to "ensure he suffers a very stingy defeat in November."
Rodriguez is facing off against Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) on Nov. 3. Notably, Florida hasn't elected a Democratic attorney general since Bob Butterworth, who served from 1987 to 2002.
