Today I did a quick Google search for the major candidates for state-wide offices in Florida in 2010 to see which candidates were running ads through Google AdWords. Interestingly, the only candidate running ads on a broad keyword search for their name was Florida Democrat CFO Alex Sink who is running what looks to be a close race for Governor against Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum. More interesting is that Sink is running her ads on the search word "Kendrick Meek" - the Democratic Congressman likely to be the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate contest.
While the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate is far from over, popular Florida Governor Charlie Crist remains well ahead in every poll conducted to this point and is expected to have a significant financial edge over former Florida House Speaker, Marco Rubio. Rumors have circulated for months that within Florida Democratic circles, party fundraisers are being urged to give to Alex Sink's campaign for Governor over Kendrick Meek's run for Senate as Sink's campaign is viewed as a safer-bet for Florida Democrats. Perhaps this Google AdWords campaign is a sign of confirmation of these rumors.At a fundraiser in Tallahassee tonight, the Miami Herald reports that Sink claims her campaign is, "going to need something like 40,000 contributions from all over Florida." Undoubtedly, one way to bring in that many donations is through targeted online advertising such as the above ad. The fact that Sink is the only state-wide candidate currently advertising on a keyword for a fellow party-member in another race may shed some light on Florida Democrats' strategy for 2010.
