Melissa Nelson hits Jax airwaves with ‘six-figure’ ad buy

Reliable sources tell FloridaPolitics.com that First Coast Values, a political committee supporting Melissa Nelson, has launched a “six-figure” ad buy to introduce the former assistant state attorney to 4th Circuit voters as she challenges for the job of state attorney.

The ads are said to be positive, introducing the candidate at the very time incumbent Angela Corey has suffered through a nightmarish series of news cycles. The reporting involves a lawsuit against her campaign manager, Alexander Pantinakis, for fronting for a sham write-in candidate, causing Republicans great consternation as they consider whether Corey merits a third term.

Corey, as recently as yesterday, upbraided the local media for its coverage of her eight years in office, then, when asked by the Florida Times-Union about her campaign manager’s ethically dubious play, Corey said “it’s a Republican primary.”

Pantinakis and the candidate, Kenny Leigh, deny knowing each other.

However, Corey’s key political advisor, Matt Justice, is reportedly best friends with Leigh.

With the media pushing up Corey’s negatives, there’s no reason for Nelson to go negative, and in that context a big-ticket positive ad buy makes sense as the First Coast heads into a holiday weekend.