Phil Ammann
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is looking towards 2018, as the Florida Democrat sent an email fundraising blast on Thursday that shows he may not be ready to give up quite yet, despite speculation he will not seek re-election.
In the email, Nelson decries the loss of “some really good common-sense senators” in last year’s election — fellow Democrats like Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Kay Hagan of North Carolina.
The losses were “not so much because of their ideas or the positions they took,” he writes, “but more so because of a shadowy group of ‘extremist billionaires’ who decided to bury them in an avalanche of cash that bought negative TV attack ads.”
The reality, Nelson says, is the “avalanche” came because of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that money was equal to political speech. It was a jab at the Koch brothers, the billionaire conservatives spending nearly $300 million during November’s mid-terms, with more than twice that expected for 2016.
If he decides to run, Nelson – who turns 76 in 2018 – will be seeking a fourth term in Congress. Either way, Nelson’s email indicates that he wants to have enough money on hand to defend “from the coming onslaught of false attacks.”
“We have to be ready to compete in the current ‘money talks’ environment,” he wrote. “I’ve worked hard to ensure every nickel and dime is put to the absolute best use. And I’ll keep doing that.”
