A.G. Gancarski
On Monday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Greene made the rounds in Northeast Florida, a bus tour that included a number of Jacksonville stops.
At one of them — a back-to-school backpack giveaway at Northwestern Middle School — we caught up with the candidate, who per at least one recent poll of the race is within six points of leader Gwen Graham.
Greene, as one might expect, projected confidence.
Noting that he’s only been in the campaign since mid-June, Greene asserted that he’s “running against candidates who have been running for a year and a half.”
“I’m really thrilled,” Greene said, “that an electorate that had not been excited is suddenly getting excited and we’re doing better than we even expected.”
“The reaction I’m getting as we drive down the road — people honking their horns, thumbs up. We get off the bus and crowds have been great everywhere. The message has been getting through; Democrats are tired of losing,” Greene said.
Greene dismissed poll results in the most classic of ways, saying “the only poll that matters is what happens on Aug. 28.”
“We’re not trying to take votes from anybody,” Greene said when asked his thoughts on being a drag on Levine. “We’re just trying to get our message across.”
“I’m not going to take a penny of special interest money,” Greene said, “and that’s where the excitement comes from. I’m going to have the resources to go toe-to-toe with Republicans in November … whatever their nominee has available, I’m in a position to match it, to outspend them.”
“Voters are seeing I’m absolutely the most qualified candidate,” Greene noted, adding he would handle being Governor in a “passionate and compassionate” way.
