Two progressives contrasted mainly by their differences in style and experience are competing for the chance to face Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi in November.
The Democratic primary pits George Sheldon, most recently an assistant secretary for the federal Administration for Children And Families, against Florida House Minority Leader Perry Thurston.
Aside from some legal wrangling over whether Sheldon has met the residency requirements to run, the race has been relatively amicable. Sheldon and Thurston have echoed each other on policy and reserved their salvos for Bondi, a conservative who has opposed Obamacare, same-sex marriage and the legalization of medical marijuana.
Thurston went so far as to launching a website, bondisbungles.com, that mocks Bondi over a variety of her positions and encourages visitors to share Bondi's "bungles" on social media.
Sheldon, like Thurston, has accused Bondi of politicizing the office. He points to her joining other Republican attorneys general to fight a plan to clean up Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and supporting the U.S. Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling that some corporations don't have to provide birth control coverage.
"I really think she sees herself as the governor's lawyer, not the people's lawyer," Sheldon told the Tampa Bay Times editorial board last month.
Sheldon and Thurston both support the death penalty, medical marijuana, restoration of voting rights for non-violent felons, Obamacare and same-sex marriage. Thurston wants to repeal the "Stand Your Ground" self-defense law, while Sheldon says it should be tweaked and that he would "consider" repeal.
The primary differences between the two Democrats is are in style - Sheldon is more measured, while Thurston is often described as passionate - and experience. Both have legislative experience, but Sheldon, 67, has also been an assistant attorney general. He was secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Services under then-Gov. Charlie Crist and, from 2011 to 2013, was the acting assistant secretary at the Federal Administration for Children and Families under the Department of Health and Human Services.
"The attorney general, frankly, is more about being a general than being an attorney," Sheldon told the Sun-Sentinel of south Florida. "You've got 500 lawyers, and it's learning how to have the vision and a direction and managing those 500 lawyers moving forward."
Sheldon graduated from Tampa Plant High School and received both his undergraduate and law school degrees from Florida State. He ventured into politics in 1974, when he won a Tampa-based House seat that he held for eight years. Since then, he lost a bid for Congress to then-newcomer Mike Bilirakis in 1982 and ran unsuccessfully for education commissioner in 2000 and attorney general and 2002.
Thurston, 53, is a third-generation Floridian from the Fort Lauderdale area who earned his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta and a law degree from Miami. He was an assistant public defender for four years before going into private practice. First elected to the State House in 2006, Thurston has been the House Minority Leader since 2012.
Either candidate would face an uphill battle against Bondi, who trounced Democrat Dan Gelber in 2010 and has a big lead in fundraising. Bondi has been lauded, even by some of her critics, for her work fighting pill mills, synthetic drugs and human trafficking. But her tenure has become increasingly viewed as controversial.