Jay Collins ‘very grateful’ for mystery ads boosting his still-undeclared run for Governor

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins may not be willing to say he’s running for Governor, but he appreciates a third-party group boosting his signal in case he does.

“Florida Fighters” ran ads over the weekend promoting Collins and property tax abatement, reportedly at a cost of more than $900,000 in total, according to POLITICO Florida Playbook.

And though he’s still mulling his next move, that’s fine with him.

“I’m very grateful for whatever group that was that put those out there … We are in this short, final part of wrapping up our decision, and I’m very grateful for that group. It’s very encouraging to see people believe in our message and our approach,” he said Tuesday in Jacksonville.

Collins especially appreciates the air cover since he sees himself as an alternative to “politicians who pat themselves on the back and put their ego first,” a seeming allusion to Rep. Byron Donalds, who had more than $31 million banked as of the end of September.

“You can’t lead Florida from a Fox News green room. You can’t lead Florida while campaigning everywhere BUT Florida. Showing up on TV is easy. Showing up for Floridians takes work,” he posted to social media, seemingly alluding to the Naples Congressman’s work stumping across the country for Donald Trump last year and his frequent television hits since.

If Collins gets in the race, he will “know that my family was stable, the area around us, our support structure was there, and they could go through something like this.”

But he will also have ground to make up.

Collins has struggled in public polls of the still-nascent Republican field to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Collins is at 1% in a survey from Victory Insights and at 4% in one from St. Pete Polls.