Attack ad hits Lauren Book because she ‘hates’ Republicans, prompting colleagues to rally to Book’s side

Lauren Book won her re-election bid, but it came at a cost. Image via Florida Politics.

Attack ads have been whizzing back and forth in the state’s most hard-fought Democratic Senate Primary as Barbara Sharief attempts to challenge Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book.

Now, the latest radio attack ad against Book has rallied Book’s legislative colleagues to hit back at Sharief’s camp.

The ad is aimed at angering Republican voters, using audio from Book describing Gov. Ron DeSantis as “a tyrannical dictator.”

“Lauren Book wants Republicans to vote for her even though she hates them,” the narrator says as the ad wraps up.

Since there’s no Republican running in the district, it’s an open Primary, so Republicans and voters of any political affiliation will get to weigh in on the contest.

But using selective audio clips from Book’s public utterances infuriated the side that Sharief would be joining if she won the election.

“Leader Lauren Book’s record as a proven champion for democratic values, working families, and standing up to Ron DeSantis and his radical Republican-lite cronies is something to be celebrated — not shamefully attacked,” said Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner of St. Petersburg.

Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky, who’s running for re-election in a district that straddles Broward and Palm Beach counties called the ad, “a shameful choice.”

“Barbara Sharief has chosen to align herself with Ron DeSantis and the Republicans by running against our incumbent Democratic Leader,” she said.

The advertisement was heard on WIOD, which also has the shows of conservative pundits such as Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck on its schedule.

For anyone who knows how Tallahassee works, the quotes used in the ad are of the “no kidding” variety.

“It is my job as the Democratic Leader to bring back Democrats to Tallahassee — that’s number one,” Book says after the narrator introduces her. The introduction says, “This is how Lauren Book talks about Republicans.”

Another ad heaped scorn on Book’s high-dollar wedding and how much Book is paid through her nonprofit Lauren’s Kids. A spot from Book prompted Sharief to file a lawsuit, as it raises questions about medical billing fraud cases that Sharief settled.

The newly drawn Senate District 35 sits in the southwest quarter of Broward County. It’s one of the biggest sources of Democratic voters in the state, according to Matt Isbell, an election data analyst at MCI Maps.