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Florida Cabinet: Bondi, Putnam, Atwater all coast to re-election

 
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi won reelection Tuesday with a commanding lead over Democratic George Sheldon and Libertarian candidate Bill Wohlsifer. [JAMES BORCHUCK | Times]
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi won reelection Tuesday with a commanding lead over Democratic George Sheldon and Libertarian candidate Bill Wohlsifer. [JAMES BORCHUCK | Times]
Published Nov. 5, 2014

TAMPA — Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi won re-election Tuesday with a commanding victory over Democrat George Sheldon and Libertarian candidate Bill Wohlsifer.

Florida's two other Republican Cabinet members, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, won their races by double digits.

Although an attorney general hasn't lost re-election in 50 years, Bondi was in the most competitive race of the three, especially after enduring a spate of negative publicity in the past week about how she manages the office.

But none of that soured the celebration Tuesday night at TPepin Hospitality Centre in Tampa, where a jazz band and a lounge singer performed for about 60 Bondi supporters, including former Gov. Bob Martinez. Cocktail tables were covered with bumper stickers and "Keep Luke in Tallahassee" buttons. Luke is Bondi's 175-pound St. Bernard.

Bondi gained a devoted conservative following in the past four years for bashing the Affordable Care Act and fighting to uphold the state's ban on gay marriage.

"I won't be silenced and I won't be bullied by anyone in D.C.," Bondi told cheering supporters Tuesday night. "Most are just realizing that Obamacare is a disaster for our entire country."

No mention was made of her biggest gaffe, the postponement of an execution last year to host a campaign fundraiser. She later apologized, but the misstep helped draw out a challenger in Sheldon, a former deputy attorney general and secretary of Florida's Department of Children and Families. Sheldon, 67, tried to play up his experience while raising questions about Bondi's ethical conduct, but he couldn't get much attention.

Bondi debated him only once and the Florida Democratic Party funneled its money exclusively into the governor's race. Meanwhile, the GOP gave Bondi $2.2 million, including $750,000 from an out-of-state group called the Republican Attorneys General Association, or RAGA. Overall, she raised a total of $5.8 million to Sheldon's $900,000, allowing her to air at least two TV ads to his none.

In the past week, Sheldon tried to capitalize on media reports about RAGA's influence on Bondi and a Washington, D.C., law firm that wined and dined her as her office dropped or ignored cases involving the firm's clients.

Bondi denied any conflict, and on Tuesday night, she expressed no regrets. After giving her victory speech, the campaign played Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

Putnam, 40, easily won re-election as the head of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, a sprawling agency that helps farmers, manages state forests, protects consumers and processes concealed-weapon license applications.

A 10-year veteran of the U.S. House of Representatives, Putnam raised $4.2 million in his personal campaign account to overwhelm the $44,000 his Democratic challenger, Thaddeus Hamilton, scraped together. Putnam is considered a sure bet to run for governor in 2018.

So is Atwater, 56, who cruised to another four years as CFO, overseeing the investment of state funds, insurance fraud investigations and the workers' compensation system.

Atwater also is a political veteran, with a decade in the Legislature, including serving as Senate president from 2008 to 2010. He raised $4.4 million, while his Democratic opponent, William Rankin, mustered only $41,915.