Bill McCollum

Kendrick Meek

McCollum is campaigning in the Republican primary to succeed Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running as an independent candidate for the vacant Florida seat in the U.S. Senate. Meek is hoping to win the Democratic primary to contest the U.S. Senate seat against Crist and the likely Republican candidate Marco Rubio.

McCollum, 66, and Meek, 43, were taken for granted as the candidates to represent their respective parties in November’s general elections, until two relatively unknown candidates entered the picture.

When businessman Rick Scott announced that he would be contesting the Republican primary for Florida governor, he was hardly considered as a real threat to the well known and politically established McCollum. But Scott is loaded with cash and has been able to purchase ads and garner publicity that has made him a definite threat to McCollum in the polls.

Kendrick Meek’s chances are also threatened by the little known Jeff Greene, who entered the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate but used his wealth to gain momentum and is now leading in the polls.

Greene, in particular, has been waging a very negative campaign and has been running frequent ads on local television accusing Meek of being one of the most corrupt politicians.

In a debate between the two Democratic candidates on Monday, Greene labeled Meek as “Exhibit A” of Washington’s “culture of corruption”. Meek hit back, calling Greene “an untrustworthy phony.”

However, Greene’s money and preponderance of TV ads have not swayed all Democrats to him. Not surprisingly, most African-American Democrats in South Florida express strong support for Meek, an African-American who represented Miami and parts of Broward in the U.S. House. But, Hispanic and white Democrats are also unwavering in their support for Meek.

Tony Riggolio of South Miami said, “I don’t trust this guy Greene with all his money. Where was he all these years when Meek was batting for Floridians in Congress?”

Lisa Merriweather of Kendall said, “I don’t trust a Johnny-Come-Lately like Green. I don’t what he stands for.”

Scott, 48, has also been outspending McCollum in the Republican primary race, and is positioning himself as the preferred conservative candidate who is outspoken in endorsing Arizona’s controversial immigration law. The two candidates also participated in a contentious debate on Monday.

McCollum has attacked Scott for his tenure as the CEO of Columbia/HCA, a hospital chain that was accused of Medicare fraud and had to pay fines of $1.7 billion. In the debate, McCollum criticized Scott for accepting some $300 million in stock after he was removed as the chain’s CEO.

Reports are that Scott has invested some $28 million, mostly his own funds, into his political advertising campaign, while McCollum and his supporters have invested about $9 million. McCollum had hoped the state would match the $9 million that he raised, but a federal appeals court last week denied the funding.

Another potential setback for McCollum was realized Wednesday when the conservative National Rifle Association ranked Scott higher than him, after an analysis of the two candidates’ records, statements and responses to a questionnaire. However, neither candidate was endorsed by the NRA.