It has come to our attention that mailers are being circulated in here in Senate District 9 by a group with questionable intentions. These mailers come from an organization called Floridians for Equality and Justice. The organization claims to be progressive, and lists progressive groups Equality Florida and Ruth’s List Florida on their website. However, these groups stated they have no relationship with this organization, nor any knowledge of their activities. Floridians for Equality and Justice appears to be using similar targeting and tactics to those used previously by Republican dark money groups, in an attempt to influence a Democratic Primary Election.
What did the fake mailers say? Currently, 4 different mailers have been sent out to District 9 voters, which encompasses all of Seminole County and a portion of Volusia. Two of these fake mailers denounce Senate District 9 Democratic candidate Patricia Sigman, while two other mailers promote Senate District 9 Democratic candidate Rick Ashby. These mailers were created without Ashby’s knowledge, and photos on the mailers were taken off of his public Facebook Page and used without his permission. “I don’t condone illegal campaign activities, and this group obviously has dark money behind them,” stated Ashby. All Seminole County Democratic Party candidates are committed to running clean races, and had no hand in the creation of these mailers.
Why do we suspect these mailers are funded by Republican “dark money?”
- Florida has laws to ensure the transparency of political funding, including requiring political committees to file with the state and submit campaign financial reports at certain deadlines. There was no record of this organization registering as a Political Committee in Florida until after mailers were sent out. Currently, information regarding their financial activity is not publicly available- and we have no idea where this money is coming from. Tactics used by this organization are similar to those previously used by dark money Republican groups, according to representatives from Senate Victory.
- The address this organization lists is a UPS store in Miami which has been used by Republican campaigns and Political Committees in the past. Their listed phone number does not ring and goes straight to voicemail. Additionally, their web page lists no one in leadership positions.
- The organization claims to be progressive, and lists progressive groups Equality Florida and Ruth’s List Florida on their webpage. However, these groups stated they have no relationship with this organization, nor any knowledge of their activities.
- The organization used the likeness of Senator Annette Taddeo, a strong supporter of Patricia Sigman, in a mailer endorsing another candidate in the race. An actual progressive organization would not make this mistake.
Why would Republicans target Senate District 9? Florida Senate District 9 is a crucial seat in this year’s upcoming elections. As one of the two 2 most flippable Senate seats in the entire state, it is an incredibly high-stakes election. (Keep in mind that Democrats only need to flip 3 Florida Senate seats to have a majority!) On top of that, our historically “red” district has been turning “blue”, and seats that were once Republican strongholds are now under heavy competition. “We’ve seen this kind of behavior before- behavior that is questionable both legally, and most certainly ethically”, stated Seminole County Democratic Party chairwoman, Brittany Nethers. She continues, “All of our Senate District 9 candidates are committed to running clean races.”
What can I do? Our Senate Seat 9 race is crucial, which is why some may be trying to influence it. Spread awareness regarding these fake mailers and the shadowy organization. Make sure that you, your family, and your friends vote this upcoming August 18th and November 3rd. Florida’s future is depending on it!
You can read more about these mailers from the Orlando Sentinel, or learn more about our candidates at SemDems.com/candidates.