Joe Henderson: Going negative could be major blunder by Darden Rice

Negative campaigning has long been a part of politics and always will be. After all, consultants have to eat, right?

That said, I don’t believe going negative works all that well in local races such as, oh, the one to choose St. Petersburg’s next Mayor. Darden Rice just found that out the hard way.

Instead of telling residents why she is the best choice, Rice plays defense because of an unforced error. Her affiliated political committee, Friends of Darden Rice, sent an attack mailer about fellow Democrat Ken Welch that was a clumsy attempt to tie him to the former President, who shall not be named.

She might like a do-over on that. The reaction was swift, unkind, and now Rice runs third among eight candidates in the latest St. Pete Polls survey. The top two vote-getters in the Aug. 24 primary square off in November’s General Election.

Welch, by the way, is first in the poll.

This is too bad because Darden is respected, popular, champions progressive causes, and would make a fine Mayor. So would Welch, and Robert Blackmon – running second now – has run a strong campaign and appears to be gaining support.

But when Darden chose to go negative, she discovered the risks of going against someone the people know and respect. Welch is a native of St. Petersburg, a former County Commissioner, and active in the community.

Darden is active, too. Like Welch, she understands the issues that are important to voters. She was elected twice to the St. Pete City Council, where she has been an effective and important voice.

But somehow, Rice’s keen instinct betrayed her when she lobbed cannonballs because Welch received an endorsement from conservative Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

Welch, Rice said, “has stood with Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis and has carried out regressive policies that hurt our community.”

That obviously was a message to St. Pete’s African American community, which doesn’t have the best relationship with law enforcement.

For now, Rice is sticking with her main point about Welch but concedes parts of the mailer were inappropriate. Well, she has to own it now. But voters in the middle might actually like the idea that a Democrat can work with a Republican for the community’s well-being.

Rice apologized, sort of, on Monday — not for what she said, but for how it was presented.

“But I obscured that message by using stock images instead of featuring Black community supporters. That was a mistake for which I apologize,” she said in a statement. “I want to thank everyone who has reached out to me, and I am taking these lessons with me throughout the rest of the campaign and as next your Mayor.”

That kind of misses the point.

Yes, campaigns can get rough because politics is a contact sport, but what is too rough?

Voters in Tampa drew a line when Jackie Toledo went too deep in the mud in a City Council race against Guido Maniscalco in 2015. Her barrage of attacks turned off voters. She learned her lesson and subsequently won three terms to the Florida House, where she has been effective.

In 2016, Kevin Beckner, a popular and progressive County Commissioner, ran for the Hillsborough court clerk’s post held by the venerable Pat Frank. It got messy from the start, and Beckner never shook the perception that he made Frank’s age — she was 85 — an issue.

He denied that, but he lost anyway.

And in the most recent Tampa mayoral election, David Straz went full-tilt negative against Jane Castor.

Voters overwhelmingly chose Castor.

There’s a lesson there somewhere for those with eyes on city or county offices. At least in local elections, attacks can backfire if voters believe they’re unfair or too misleading.

Consultants might not agree, but voters always have the final say.