Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who marches in lockstep with DeSantis and Trump, seeks 2nd term

South Florida Sun Sentinel - 9/14/2021

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who has operated in sync with Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump, said Tuesday she is seeking a second term.

The announcement is the formal first step in a campaign that easily could see Moody cruise to a second term. So far, no Democrat has come forward to announce a 2022 candidacy.

Many previous Florida attorney generals have had much higher profiles, with two well-known enough to run for governor. But since Moody took office in 2019, all the political oxygen has been taken up by DeSantis and Trump, resulting in much less attention to the important office.

As attorney general, Moody:

On Monday, she appeared with DeSantis at a news conference on the issue and filed a legal brief siding with plaintiffs in a lawsuit by police and other city employees challenging Gainesville’s vaccine requirement.

She’s also done the more routine tasks associated with an attorney general, such as warning about COVID relief scams or malware that can infect phones, allowing scammers to take control of the devices and peoples’ banking information.

“The campaign looks forward to sharing the impressive record of accomplishments Attorney General Moody has made on behalf of Floridians, along with her continued focus on fighting the opioid epidemic, stopping the spread of human trafficking, protecting seniors, and backing the blue — Florida’s distinguished law enforcement community,” her campaign said in a news release Tuesday.

She’s been raising money for her Friends of Ashley Moody political organization, which could be used to aid her reelection. On Sept. 1 she filed paperwork allowing her to raise and spend money for her 2022 campaign.

“I am proud to announce that I will be seeking re-election as Florida’s attorney general, to continue building a stronger, safer Florida by prosecuting human trafficking, protecting our seniors, and combating the opioid epidemic,” Moody said Tuesday in a written statement.

Moody, 46, is a former Hillsborough County circuit court judge and former assistant U.S. attorney.

The Democrats’ prospects are bleak.

In statewide elections from 2002 through 2020, Republicans have won 25 and Democrats have won six. And Florida hasn’t elected a Democratic attorney general since 1998.

For 2022, Florida Democrats’ most burning desire is figuring out a way to defeat DeSantis and derail his 2024 presidential ambitions. Other offices are a much lower priority for time and fundraising.

Still the state is closely divided, and if there’s a surge of people who want to oust DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., next year that could create a pool of voters who might also vote for the Democratic nominee for attorney general.

So far, the Democrats don’t have a candidate. There’s plenty of time, though. The 2018 Democratic candidate, Sean Shaw, didn’t announce his candidacy until January of that year. Moody won the November election with 52.1% of the vote.

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @browardpolitics