While everybody was concentrated on the primary last week, several Republicans without August challengers were eager to get to November, with mailers and TV ads already — since even before qualification and the Fourth of July.

That would be State Rep. Frank Artiles, who is running for Senate in District 40 against incumbent Sen. Dwight Bullard, who won Tuesday. Artiles, whose also had people knocking on doors, sent a Happy Fourth of July piece with a framed picture of his family. In others, he touts himself as an education champion. He even sent a 2016-2017 public school calendar as school started. Smart.

Read related story: So much Andrew Korge in the mailbox — maybe a record 

And Artiles is targeting independent voters, which is also smart. He’s got the Republicans sewn up already. And maybe he can win some Democrats over with his campaign against the MDX tolls. The most recent mailer Ladra saw touted Artiles’ fight against these tolls.

Incumbent Sens. Anitere Flores and Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, as well as State Rep. Michael Bileca, have also been working it alongside the August wannabes.

Flores has traveled to the Keys, which are also in her district, for months and she has been airing a TV commercial for a couple of weeks that features her husband, Dustin, and their two boys, who she is raising in the same neighborhood where she grew up.

The Flagship DLP started airing a TV ad this week, paid for by the United Teachers of Dade, featuring real teachers thanking him for listening to them and voting to increase their funding. He also sent a couple of mailers way before the primary. One of them had voter petitions enclosed, so it was even before qualification. The most recent used the Zika scare to offer voters a list of tips voters can keep on the fridge.

Read related story: Miguel DLP vs J-Rod make it a hard choice in Senate 37

Bileca’s most recent “fighting for taxpayers” mailer touts the old Miami Dolphins stadium financing he helped kill in 2013. What? He’s got nothing fresher from the last three years? He, too, is very smartly targeting independent voters. 

But his first piece — “Working Hard. Delivering Results.” — was sent in both English and Spanish and was a four-panel bi-fold. The latest piece is a 8X11 flat card.

Up to the north, State Sen. Rene Garcia and State Reps. Manny Diaz, Jr., Jose Oliva and Bryan Avila have been hitting the streets since at least mid August, when they opened their collective headquarters in Hialeah.

Maybe these early birds know that the weeks ahead are going to give our mailboxes a bellyache, so they snuck in before prime time.

Let’s see if voters remember come November.

After trust fund baby Andrew “Kid” Korge jumped into another Senate race, the common political thought was that Sen. Anitere Flores had nothing to worry about. In fact, we thought Korge jumped because polls showed him she had nothing to worry about. Now with Korge and his attack money out, everyone thought Flores would coast.

But she is campaigning like she never has. Flores is spending money on bus benches and TV ad buys — her first TV commercial aired this week — and driving regularly to the Florida Keys and securing endorsements from almost every group of firefighters there is.

Does she actually think she has a race?

Read related story: Public employees labor union backs three GOP legislators

Flores faces some unknown Democrat named Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who filed right before the deadline. Mucarsel. Mucus (moco) plus carcel (jail). Debbie “Boogerjail.” La pobre. She’s a fundraiser for Florida International University who is just as pretty as the senator and who has raised a respectable-for-a-newby $66,230. She’s only had to spend $4,000 because the Florida Democratic Party has provided in-kind consulting and research worth $46,000.

This is one of the seats they’re desperate to flip, because it’s in a newly redrawn district that President Barack Obama won by five points in 2012. It might be slightly more red, but it appears that the independent voters will make the difference.

So the senator is sweating it.

Flores, who has raised close to $1 million ($946,243) since 2013, has spent a quarter million of it just since June 25. That includes $113,000 on media buys and $62,000 on outdoor advertising (like bus benches and/or billboards) in the same six weeks. Ladra saw the first TV ad over the weekend. And she has about $343,000 left to spend. She also has about $400,000 left in her PAC, Floridians for Strong Leadership.

Read related story: Senate 39’s Andrew Korge vs. Anitere Flores gets ugly fast

And she’s all over the place herself. Saturday she was distributing backpacks in Homestead. Monday she was visiting Wesley House in Key West, which provides services to foster and adoptive families. She’s taken several trips to the Keys, which is a new constituency for her and she seems to be courting them.

So even Korgeless, it looks like there might still be a race in District 39. Or at least Flores is treating it like one.

Like a leapfrog, Andrew Korge jumped yet again this week from the Senate race in District 39 against Anitere Flores to District 40, where he has a primary battle against incumbent Sen. Dwight Bullard and former State Rep. Ana Rivas Logan.

Korge has been shopping around for elected office since he first expressed interest in Gwen Margolis‘ seat. In fact, it’s odd that he didn’t go back to that seat himself when Margolis decided to retire. From there, he has jumped over to the congressional race against Annette Taddeo and then again to the Senate race with Flores.

Sure, District 40 has a slightly bigger Dem advantage and Flores was a crossover leading in the polls. But while Frank Artiles, the Republican he’d face in November, is an easier target than Flores, he’s got to get through August first.

And that’s if he doesn’t get buyer’s remorse between now and then.

And he might. And he should.

After news came out — first in the Sunshine State News then in the Miami Herald and tomorrow on every political tabloid show there is — that Korge tried to bribe Bullard off the ballot with a $25,000 payola, it’s going to be hard for voters to look at the trust fund kid with any kind of credulity again. His campaign is sorta over before it even began.

I mean, sure the Korges are used to throwing money at politicians and getting what they want. But this time what Kid Korge wanted was the pol’s job. And that’s kind of crossing the line. Nana nina.

Korge has denied the bribe but we all know what happened here. Because it happens all the time. He probably promised to put $25,000 in Bullard’s campaign if he moved it to another district.

With a bank of almost $400,000 — that’s just his campaign, not including any PACs — and the ability to raise half a million more if necessary, one has to wonder what other kind of political strategy Korge will employ now to get elected (read: watch the ABs).

Despite having Democratic opponents in a Hillary presidential year, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Florida are endorsing two Republican incumbents in this year’s election: Sens. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla and Anitere Flores.

They’ve also endorsed Sen. Rene Garcia, but that’s different. Garcia has no opponent. Miguel DLP and Flores, however, are running in hotly contested districts against challengers supported by the Florida Democratic Party in a rush to win seats this year.

And the three GOP senators are the only Republicans AFSCME endorses in a sea of Democrats.

AFSCME is Florida’s fastest growing union, which is part of a 1.6 million member union that advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families. And like most unions, it typically backs the blue ticket.

But they have broken from the trend for these three.

Why?

“Our wages, benefits, working conditions, health and safety, and even whether we have jobs at all, are in the hands of officials who influence our future,” said Willie Pouncy Jr., AFSCME Florida Region 3 PEOPLE Chair. “After reviewing where Senator Flores stands on the issues important to our state and to the members who live or work in her district, we believe she is the best choice in 2016 for our families, our communities and those we serve.”

And they are not alone. In the case of Flores, who helped kill a law that would have scrapped the county’s wage-theft protection program, she also has the endorsement of the Florida Professional Firefighters Association and every elected official in Homestead, all but one Democrats. Diaz de la Portilla regularly enjoys the support of police and firefighter unions.

“I have a proven track record of effectively fighting for working men and women in our community,” the eldest of the DLP brothers told Ladra.

Said Flores: “During my time in office, I have advocated for a stronger economy, raising incomes and more affordable healthcare benefits for hardworking families— matters important to all Floridians.”

So who is Andrew Korge, who is running against Flores, and State Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, who is running against DLP going to get?

It’s going to be a busy week for Republican checkbooks.

We’ve got at least four fundraisers planned this week, two for Tuesday and two for Wednesday, for GOP candidates in state House and Senate races.

First up is former Congressman David Rivera. We already told you he’s back, running now for the seat abandoned by State Rep. Frank Artiles, who is running for Senate. His fundraiser kick-off is Tuesday at Cuban Crafters on NW 7th Street and it is the most mysterious. No telling who might show up — since there’s nobody on the host committee.

The same night, Artiles is having his own fundraiser in Tallahassee hosted by some of his colleagues and would-be colleagues in the legislature and only two state reps (Jose Oliva and Jose Felix “Pepe” Diaz. Los dos pepes) from the 305, because Artiles is not liked that much. The others are from elsewhere, albeit heavy hitters from leadership — including President-designate Joe Negron, Senate Majority Leader Bill Galvano and Speaker Designate Richard Corcoran — perhaps indicating that the GOP is seriously trying to take the blue seat from Sen. Dwight Bullard.

Read related story: In battle to keep Senate seat 40, Dems eye Ana Rivas Logan

Or maybe everybody else is getting their hair done and their shoes shined for Wednesday. That’s when, between them, Sen. Anitere Flores and State Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr., have all the serial political event hosts in town at their soirees, respectively, in Coral Gables and Hialeah.

Let’s ignore that it’s strange for these two — both of whom work in the charter school industry and who arguably draw from the same pool of donors — to have their fundraisers on the very same day at the very same time. Maybe Flores will go to Hialeah next week and Diaz will come to Coral Gables. Cuidado!

The invites are engaging simply because of the large list of inviters — especially with Flores, who is apparently not taking the challenge from Democrat trust fund baby Andrew Korge lightly.

Flores’ event has nine special guests/speakers, 14 event chairpeople, and 25 names so far on the host committee that is “still in formation.” Still in formation?!? When is the elevator at capacity?

Among the special guests is the entire Cuban Congressional GOP caucus (Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) and five of the 13 county commissioners — Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Rebeca Sosa, Javier Souto, Xavier Suarez and Juan Zapata — as well as Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

Read related story: Senate 39’s Andrew Korge vs Anitere Flores gets ugly fast

Chairs include lobbyists Ron Book, Al Cardenas and Manny Kadre, builders Sergio Pino and Pedro Munilla, automobile mogul Norman Braman and Miami-Dade Republican Party Chairman Nelson Diaz. Hosts include more Jeb Bush, Jr., container queen Remedios Diaz Oliver and a slew of more second tier lobbyists like Jose “El Chino” Fuentes, Luis Andre Gazitua, Bob Levy and Ralph Garcia-Toledo, who is now playing with the big boys thanks to his tour of duty as driver for then Commissioner Gimenez. (Tell your kids: Forget college! Drive a politician around and you’ll get rich!)

All 48 of them invite us to Bulla Gastrobar on Ponce de Leon Boulevard at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Half an hour later, though, we are invited to another fundraiser for Diaz Jr. at Hialeah Park, which you know is impossible in Miami-Dade traffic. Our hosts here include Sen. Rene Garcia, State Reps. Jose Oliva and Bryan Avila, former State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez (who is the RSVP on the invite) and Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban Bovo, all of whom kind of do stuff in lock step. They also include Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez and Hialeah Gardens Mayor Yioset de la Cruz as well as the full council of both cities.

We don’t have to wait long to see who wins the prize for best fundraiser. Checks written Tuesday and Wednesday will appear on the March campaign reports, which are due and become public April 10th or 11th.

My money is on the Gables soiree for Flores — if simply because of the numbers.

Game on, people! Warm up those wrists!

That was quick.

The race between Sen. Anitere Flores (R-Kendall) and Democrat challenger Andrew Korge, son of lobbyist and big national Dem fundraiser Chris Korge, is the first this year to go negative.

That means that, officially, the state campaigns have begun.

Occupy Democrats, a national advocacy group that pushes blue candidates, released a video online this week that calls Flores “The Queen of Corruption” because of her ties to the unaccredited Doral College, where she worked as president from 2011 to 2015, earning $150,000 a year (according to her own financial disclosures), while she pushed legislation in Tallahassee that benefited the state’s charter school cottage industry.

They even put a little crown on her head.

The video, a minute and 12 seconds long with foreboding, horror film background music, quotes the senator saying things like “I’m Anitere Flores. I take tax dollars meant for education and pocket them,” and “I abuse my legislative power to enrich myself. Got a problem with that? Tough!”

None of it is spoken. It’s all text superimposed over or shuffled into a collection of the most unfortunate photos of Flores.

“I give your tax dollars to me and my friends,” one slide says. In the next, she’s holding a huge submarine sandwich where a microphone would be in one hand and a large order of McDonald’s fries in the other.

“This is a new low,” she told Ladra. “I think it’s sad.”

By “friends,” the video creators mean Academica, which runs Doral College and is Florida’s largest for-profit charter school operator, and owner Fernando Zulueta, who are connected to a few other 305 politicos and is a prolific campaign contributor. State Rep. Manny Diaz Jr. (R-Hialeah) is chief operating officer of Doral College and State Rep. Erik Fresen (R-Coral Gables) is Zulueta’s brother-in-law. Fresen, a land use lobbyist that specializes in charter schools, is in his last term, but — naturally — is eyeing the Florida Senate as his next step (more on that later).

Flores called the attacks baseless and said that she helped establish Doral College so that higher education would be accessible to more students, regardless of their economic status. She added that the school was pursuing accreditation through the state’s “rigorous process” with state regulators and that “every single school starts off unaccredited.”

The first graduating class at FIU didn’t know if the law school would be accredited in time. Florida Polytechnic University was created by the legislature in 2012, has a president and buildings paid for by the state, charges tuition — which Doral College does not — and it is yet to be accredited. “It can take a while,” Flores said, calling the claims in the video half truths designed to mislead.

The video — posted Monday and with 277,000 views by Thursday afternoon — is a little disingenuous when it says she was paid $450,000 at Doral College, because that is over her entire time there, not an annual amount.

But this is not the first time that the school’s political connections come into scrutiny. The political connections and the benefits Academica may reap have been investigated by several news hounds, including those at the Miami Herald and the Broward Bulldog. The Education Department’s Inspector General Office was moved to audit Academica and other “school management companies” nationwide.

So, it’s natural that this would be where Korge, or those supporting him, get their ammunition. What else are they going to do? He has zero experience, zero track record of his own to run on other than his father is also Hillary Clinton’s sugar daddy. As he was for Obama.

In fact, it’s a little strange (read: hypocritical) to hear this kind of attack on behalf of the silver-spooned son of a man who became a millionaire off the public trough in airport concessions. Andrew Korge grew up on the public teet.

When asked about the video, Korge — who wants Ladra to call him a businessman because he dabbled in real estate and is a shareholder on a start-up — disavowed any connection to it. He also told me he would run a campaign based on his fresh ideas. But in the next breath he railed against Flores in what might be a preview of the negative attack ads to come.

“Let there be no doubt that Anitere and I have very different ideas. She is out to destroy public education. She doesn’t care about the environment. She votes wherever the wind is blowing. I have my principles and core values.

“The key thing is that these for-profit universities and colleges are destroying a generation and she’s part of the problem,” Korge said. “And she should be held accountable.”

You usually don’t hear this kind of attack so early on — more than seven months away from the general election. We usually also don’t hear this kind of attack against a woman — a mother at that. Consultants curse the Hispanic mamita opponent because attacks on moms usually backfire.

But this seat, in a newly drawn district, is seen as one of the few that the Democrats hope they can turn this year. The predominantly Hispanic district leans blue, but a lot of those Democrats are in black pockets that might not be as eager to go out and vote for Hillary as they were for Obama.

So you can bet that there will be more negative attacks on Flores. Ladra is sure they didn’t toss this bomb out so early to not follow up on it. Maybe they’ll find particular angle to motivate black voters to vote against her.

‘Cause they sure ain’t motivated to vote for the rich kid.