Taddeo Attacks Ingoglia's $3.7M in State-Funded Ads as Election Nears

Democratic CFO candidate Annette Taddeo is calling out Republican incumbent Blaise Ingoglia for what she characterizes as misuse of taxpayer money on advertising featuring his name and image ahead of the November election. According to reporting by journalist Jason Garcia reviewed by Taddeo's campaign, the Florida Department of Financial Services has spent more than $3.7 million on advertising since July, with more than $2.3 million of that spending occurring in just the last three weeks.

The ads, which promote hurricane preparedness, unclaimed property recovery, and senior fraud prevention, prominently feature Ingoglia's name, photo, and biography. Taddeo argues the spending mirrors the "Hope Florida" scandal that resulted in a grand jury finding that $10 million in Medicaid settlement funds were misappropriated through what investigators called a "sophisticated scheme to fund political activities." She noted that one of the firms producing the current ads was previously hired by the DeSantis administration during that earlier controversy.

According to recent polling cited by Taddeo's campaign, the CFO race is tightly competitive, with both candidates polling at 42 percent. Taddeo, a Democrat, leads among no-party-affiliation voters. Despite Ingoglia's role as CFO overseeing state finances, Taddeo said he has not launched an investigation into the advertising spending. She's also raised questions about more than $500,000 in taxpayer-funded legal fees for Ingoglia's chief of staff, Katie Strickland, who was involved in events examined by the Hope Florida grand jury.