Hillsborough County Commission Democratic candidate Pat Kemp is seizing on a GOP poll showing her leading Jim Norman in a new fundraising email to supporters.
The poll, by Republican consulting firm Data Targeting of Gainesville, shows Kemp leading Norman, 44-35 percent.
That’s interesting as a snapshot in time of those two candidates — but hardly representative of the entire field that will be on the ballot in their respective primary elections next August 30.
There are three prominent Democrats in the County Commission District 6 race that will be on the ballot — Kemp, attorney and pro-transit advocate Brian Willis, and former County Commissioner and Tampa City Councilman Thomas Scott.
Willis leads all candidates in fundraising with $59,942. Kemp has brought in $45,900, though $26,000 came from herself.
“I think Norman has pledged to raise $100,000 this first month,” noted Willis. “He has committed to rehabilitate and redefine his message in Hillsborough County, and if he has enough money he could be successful in doing that.” He noted that over 20 percent of the electorate was undecided in the poll. “We’ll need a well-funded Democratic campaign to take on the Norman fundraising machine. I am committed to doing that.”
Data Targeting has been doing surveys for 27 years, but may be best known these days for being the GOP consultant that secretly drew Florida redistricting maps in 2012, maps that were overturned by the Florida Supreme Court earlier this year as being unconstitutional.
The poll included 400 respondents and has a 4.9 percent margin of error.
