Ashley Moody spotlights Sheriff endorsements in new ad

Attorney General Ashley Moody is spotlighting endorsements from Sheriffs throughout the state in one of her latest ads.

Moody’s campaign claims endorsements from 95% of the Sheriffs in the state. The spot, which will be seen across the majority of the state’s media markets, incorporates many names familiar to those who follow state politics.

“Florida needs Ashley Moody,” the ad says, relying on Republicans and one member of the other party to make the case.

Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez notes his Democratic affiliation in the ad, which promulgates a bipartisan backing for the incumbent from Plant City.

“We’re all Sheriffs, and we all stand with Attorney General Moody,” the ad contends, before introducing comments that could be taken as a slam of Moody’s General Election challenger, Democrat Aramis Ayala.

“This isn’t the job for a radical activist,” asserted Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

“Too extreme to enforce the law,” added Polk County’s Grady Judd.

“Too timid to fight crime,” Brevard’s Wayne Ivey asserted.

The new endorsement ad underscores a familiar message.

Moody, who bills herself as the state’s “top cop,” has been endorsed by Police Chiefs, most elected Sheriffs and State Attorneys in the state. She has held in fundraising and polls a consistent advantage over Ayala, a former State Attorney from Central Florida.

As Election Day approaches next month, Moody has more than $2.9 million to spend in her Friends of Ashley Moody political committee, and more than $900,000 available in her campaign account.

Ayala has a little less than $53,000 in her campaign account.

Polls are going the incumbent’s way.

A survey released this week by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Laboratory shows Moody, a former prosecutor and judge from Plant City, with 50% support. Ayala drew just 36%.

Prior to that, Moody was up 41% to 34% in a Spectrum News/Siena College Poll released early in October. A Mason-Dixon Poll showed a 13-point lead for Moody.

See the ad here.