Venice PAC Targets Constance With Mailer Ads |

PORT CHARLOTTE — Area voters were greeted with a strong political message in their mailboxes earlier this month.

It involves a Venice-based political action committee along with money that seems to have moved between Charlotte County races and the Alabama governor’s election through the Sarasota County intermediary.

The mailers label Charlotte County Commissioner Chris Constance a “liberal career commissioner” and claims that he voted in favor of lockdowns, defunding the police, and “Faucism.”

“There is nothing Chris Constance has in common with any Republican, especially Ron DeSantis,” the mailer reads, next to a brightly colored photo of the governor and a black-and-white photo of the commissioner.

Constance, who is in the middle of his re-election campaign, said that he was “saddened and disappointed” to see “outside groups” trying to influence a Charlotte County election.

“These outside forces are spreading fake news and lies to mislead voters,” Constance said in a statement. “County commission seats should not be up for sale. The citizens won’t stand for it.”

The mailers state they were sent by an organization calling itself “Make America Great Again PAC,” based out of Venice.

Several of the ads appear to support Jaha Cummings, one of Constance’s opponents and currently a Punta Gorda councilman.

According to online campaign finance records, the PAC received approximately $550,000 in May from Alabama businessman John Blanchard — the only contribution the PAC has received this year.

Around the same time, a different organization — the Tampa-based Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economy — donated approximately $540,000 to two organizations: the Hamrick Firm LLC in Alabama and the Common Sense America Election Fund PAC in Virginia.

The latter firm, which received $440,000 from the Citizens Alliance, funded several television commercials criticizing Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey during the Republican primary for her re-election — with one of her opponents being Lynda Blanchard, wife of John Blanchard.

Florida campaign finance records also indicate that in early June, the Citizens Alliance received a total of $440,000 from a variety of individual donors and organizations.

Roughly a third of that funding — $150,000 — came from various organizations registered in Tallahassee, including Floridians for Economic Advancement and Serious Conservatives.

Other notable donors include $50,000 from Sarasota developer Patrick K. Neal and $10,000 from Bradenton businessman Robert N. Spencer.

The Daily Sun contacted the listed number for the Make America Great Again PAC; the person who answered the phone did not provide their name, but clarified that they only work for the treasurer of the PAC, Eric Robinson, approving invoices as they come in.

Robinson is a former Sarasota County Schools board member who lost reelection in 2020.

Attempts to contact Cummings and the Citizens Alliance were not returned by Wednesday afternoon.

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