Democrat Agriculture Commissioner Candidate Says She’s Being Left Out of Party Funding Efforts

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – The Democrat challenging Wilton Simpson for Agriculture Commissioner – Naomi Esther Blemur – said she is being left out of funding efforts from the Democrat Party to promote state candidates.

Simpson, the widely popular Republican who won his primary handily and garnered more votes than Charlie Crist in August, will face off against Blemur in November with millions in his campaign war chest to Blemur’s just around $1,000.

Blemur was asked to contribute $40,000 to the Democrats’ Blue Shift Florida program – she did not have the means to do so.

“The way you know who supports you is by how deep they go into their pockets. When they don’t open up their pockets or their pocketbooks, the message is very clear. You are not their candidate,” Blemur told Telemundo 51 in an interview.

The Florida Democrat Party told NBC 6, “All of our Democratic candidates for the General Election in November across Florida receive support from the Party through our Blue Shift campaign, a state-wide coordinated effort aimed at turning out voters in all 67 counties and lifting Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.”

On why Blemur thinks she is being out, she argued it might be because of religious beliefs she holds: “I think they are afraid to see the different parts of the party … Everybody in the party does not think the same way.”

She has said she believes abortion is not consistent with Christianity: “Just like any other sin, it will never be consistent with Christianity. Period.”

The primary resulted in strong sign for Republican turnout in Florida, with Simpson for agriculture commissioner getting more votes than Crist for governor. Simpson received just over one million votes while Crist received just over 900,000. Blemur received around 700,000.