One of Southwest Florida's nastiest political campaigns effectively draws to a close in a week when voters choose the Republican nominee for Florida House of Representatives District 74. Orthopedic surgeon Julio Gonzalez and former Florida Real Estate Commissioner Richard DeNapoli have duked it out for months in a campaign marked by angry attack ads and outside funding.

DeNapoli said he has been disheartened by some of the more personal attacks, including ones about his military service and frequent characterization of him as a Charlie Crist Republican (Crist, a former Republican governor, is running for governor this year as a Democrat). "I'm not taking it personally but I think it's wrong to go there," he said. "Go and attack me on verifiable things. The things I have said about my opponent are based on things he's done or that he has written about," DeNapoli said.

Gonzalez meanwhile has been frustrated by suggestions his work on health care reform on behalf of physicians was being characterized as support for Democrats like U.S. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, D-Pembroke Pines and Democratic National Committee Chair. "I have been surprised by the intensity of the smears and the willingness of my opponent and those supporting him to stray away from reality and into whatever fiction they want to create," he said.

For his part, DeNapoli said his military training ended early when he was injured during officer training, and he found it wrong he had to defend getting hurt. A televised ad from the Better Florida Fund said DeNapoli was "trying to trick voters he served as a U.S. Marine." "To make fun of someone for volunteering and getting injured in training is not right," said DeNapoli, adding he never tried to talk up his service record as more than it was. As for the Crist attacks, he said when he was working with the Broward County Republican Executive Committee he helped Crist only until Crist left the Republican Party.

As for Gonzalez, he has been irritated that work he did lobbying members of Congress on both sides of the aisle has been treated as some type of pro-ObamaCare work. He worked with groups that donated money across both sides of the aisle and worked with the offices of every member of Congress representing Florida, including Wasserman-Shultz. Much of that included fighting against Democratic programs included in the Affordable Care Act. "The complete denigration of the efforts I made to try and advocate for the health care system, things that were done in a positive and selfless manner, it takes what has been nearly a decade of work in some areas and makes it something completely opposite," he said.

In the end, both candidates feel confident going into the Aug. 26 primary and will work up until the last minute to get out their own support. Gonzalez was greeting voters at early voting spots in Venice on Monday while DeNapoli was knocking on voters' doors. Gonzalez hopes strong turnout will win the day for his campaign, and DeNapoli believes his personal interactions with voters would turn out well.

Floride House District 74 encompasses most of south Sarasota County. Tuesday's primary is only open to Republican voters. The winner will proceed to a general election against two write-in candidates.