Daniel Uhlfelder dons ‘Grim Reaper’ gear again as Attorney General race grinds on

Daniel Uhlfelder dusts off the 'Grim Reaper' costume.

Daniel Uhlfelder, the Walton County lawyer who gained a modicum of fame dressing as the Grim Reaper to bash Gov. Ron DeSantis’ COVID-19 policies, is donning the hooded black cape and grabbing his sickle again.

At least, he did for five minutes on Wednesday outside a Circle K on Thomasville Road in Tallahassee before a pair of police officers politely requested the Democratic candidate for Attorney General and the handful of assembled reporters to leave the property.

Uhlfelder said he wanted to bring attention to high gas prices, insurance premiums and shady tactics of Florida Power & Light, and the lack of action by Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican.

“(FPL) needs to be investigated. On Day 1 I’m going to investigate Florida Power & Light,” Uhlfelder said after rattling off a series of FPL’s scandals in recent years, involving connections and payments to political consultants involved in a scheme to dupe voters through “ghost candidates” and trailing a Jacksonville columnist.

He shrugged off questions asking what the Attorney General could do about inflation and high gas prices — the Attorney General can investigate violations of price gouging by gas stations but only during a declared state of emergency, usually before a tropical storm or hurricane hits — by noting the vast powers of the office to investigate.

“People don’t understand the power of the Attorney General’s office,” Uhlfelder said. “I plan to use the full weight of the Attorney General’s office to investigate abuses by utility companies, insurance companies, developers who are jacking up rents.”

Before he can take on Moody in the General Election, Uhlfelder must defeat former Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala in the Aug. 23 Primary.

Uhlfelder argued his status as a resident in a deep-red swath of the state means he’s best positioned to take on Moody in the General Election.

“I am a North Florida Democrat. I know how to communicate with folks who may not agree with me,” Uhlfelder said. “I have great bipartisan appeal. I’m going to be talking about utilities, gas prices, rent, reproductive rights. … Whether you’re Republican, Democrat or independent it’s affecting all of us.”

Uhlfelder also defended wearing the Grim Reaper outfit as he bids to gain coverage as the Primary race heads into the final stretch.

“Would you all be here right now if I was not wearing this?” he asked the reporters.