With only days before the election, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is targeting U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Winter Garden, with $1.1 million in TV ads — a surprise move that could upend a House race that’s already the most competitive in Central Florida.
Set to run in the campaign’s final week, the Bloomberg ads attack Webster for being cozy with lobbyists while boosting the candidacy of Democrat Val Demings, a former Orlando police chief who has sided with Bloomberg on gun control issues.
“Fed up with Congress? Don’t elect the same old professional politician,” is one line from the 30-second spot.
By any measure, the cost and timing of the ad blitz is considerable.
The $1.1 million ad buy, made through Bloomberg’s political action committee Independence USA, nearly equals the $1.2 million that Webster has raised this entire campaign. And it adds to the massive amount of outside help that Demings already has gotten this cycle, including $1.5 million spent by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for its own TV ads.
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