Charlie Crist Responds to Democrat-Funded Senate Race Mailer Showing Kids on Shooting Targets: ‘We Can Do Better’
FORT MYERS (FLV) – Democrat gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist was asked about a Democrat-funded mailer for a state senate race that depicted children on shooting targets.
“We can do better,” Crist said briefly when Florida’s Voice asked him Monday.
City & State reported images of the mailer that portrays a Republican candidate on a shooting target. The other side of the mailer included pictures of school children and a teacher on shooting targets with bullet holes.
The mailer was an attack ad against Republican candidate Corey Simon. Simon faces Democrat incumbent Loranne Ausley in the Senate District 3 race. It was paid for by the Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which City & State reports is led by Democrat Sen. Lauren Book.
Crist faces Gov. Ron DeSantis in the November election. Florida’s Voice Reporter Lydia Nusbaum asked Crist at a campaign stop in Fort Myers for his thoughts on the mailer.
Two parents, who lost children in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, criticized the mailer last week. Andrew Pollack lost his daughter Meadow in the school shooting.
“This is not okay. This is never okay. You wrap your arms around Parkland for photo ops then treat children like political pawns,” Pollack said on Twitter.
Parkland Parents Criticize Democrat Mailer Putting School Children on Shooting Targets
Ryan Petty’s daughter named Alaina died in the same shooting. Since then, Petty has advocated for school safety policy. He was also appointed to the Florida State Board of Education in January of 2020 and serves on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission.
“Disgusting. Shame on you [Florida Democrats]. Shame on those that funded this,” Petty said. “This ad says more about you than it does about your political opponents.”
Florida Republicans have also condemned Democrats. Florida’s Voice reached out to Senator Book earlier this month several times for a response.
Republican Rep. Webster Barnaby and GOP nominee for state Rep. Berny Jacques released a joint statement Thursday saying the “divisive” and “ignorant” use of a black man on a shooting target “has no place in civil political discourse.”
Republican State Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, the senate president designate, called on Florida Senate Democrat Leader Lauren Book to denounce the mailer. Republican Party of Florida Chairman Joe Gruters said the ad puts “Corey Simon and others’ safety at risk.”
Corey Simon and Loranne Ausley Debate in Senate District 3 Race
Simon and Ausley participated in a debate earlier this month. Ausley was asked whether she approved the mailer and knew if it was going out.
“My campaign is not responsible for the mail piece. As you said it was put out by the Democratic Party. I have no control over what they send out,” Ausley said.
Simon called the attack ad “a bridge too far” during the debate.
“This latest attack on me from my opponent put children on targets with gun shot, with gun holes in them. Put me on a target,” Simon said. “In this current environment where we just had a 40 year old man run down an 18 year old kid for his political stance, I think that is a bridge too far.”
