My late friend and mentor, video journalist J.D. Pleasant said of the St. Johns County Establishment: "They will say and do anything." SJC GQP internecine warfare calls to mind what JFK said, "Politics is a game of knives.). From Florida Politics:
Fake endorsements shake up St. Johns REC, Florida GOP
A.G. Gancarski, Florida Politics, August 10, 2024
Chair Denver Cook says the party “learned that a fraudulent voter guide has been mailed to many Republican voters across the county.”
“This fraudulent guide includes the St. Johns County GOP logo, has a slate of candidates that were not endorsed by the party, does not have legal disclaimers stating who paid for it and represents
the most obvious case of voter fraud I have witnessed to date,” Cook claims.
“The Republican Party of Florida and the St. Johns County Republican Party are the only organizations qualified to speak officially on behalf of our party in St. Johns County. We are taking this matter very seriously and are investigating. No Florida voter should be misled by anonymous, phony groups pretending to speak for the GOP,” affirms state party chair Evan Power.
The St. Johns REC is backing Mara Macie in her latest challenge to U.S. Rep. John Rutherford of Florida’s 5th Congressional District. One of two Primary challengers to Rutherford in 2022, she was unsuccessful, getting 18% of the vote and finishing in a distant second place, with Rutherford taking 66% in that election.
The local REC is bucking the political establishment down the ballot as well, going with Gerry James in his bid to replace term-limited Travis Hutson in SD 7, and with Kim Kendall in HD 18, races where Rep. Tom Leek and former Gov. Ron DeSantis lawyer Nick Primrose, respectively, would seem to have the inside track.
Five local candidates also got the nod. Ann-Marie Evans, Clay Murphy and Ann Taylor got the REC’s backing in County Commission races, while Francis Cummings and Linda Thomson are the School Board picks.
However, the fake mailer has Leek as the pick in SD 7, Primrose in HD 18, Brandon Patty for county clerk, Christian Whitehurst, Henry Deanand Roy Alaimo for county commission, Lynn Straughan for school board, and Tamara Renuart for committeewoman.
“If you are a voter and receive an envelope like the one pictured, please notify us so we can collect them as evidence – preferably unopened to facilitate fingerprint analysis,” Cook urges the party faithful.
Fake endorsements are nothing new in Northeast Florida. In 2023’s Jacksonville municipal elections, former Congresswoman Corrine Brownhad to disavow “Quick Picks” sent out under her name.
A.G. Gancarski
A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at AG@FloridaPolitics.com or on Twitter: @AGGancarski
In the comments of that Florida Politics article..it says that you endorse David Shoar for SD 7. So badmouth Shoar on this blog then promote him in front of potentially many more people. Why not just endorse him on the blog?
ReplyDeleteThe SJC REC is not a serious entity anyway. Nobody should have to play by their rules. Nobody. They are nobodies and they just end up propping people up only later to trash those people and support someone else. Dogs have more loyalty and intelligence.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNo, the post on Florida Politics is fake. Anyone who knows me or reads this blog or hears me speak in public meetings knows that I do not endorse DAVID SHOAR, who legally changed his name from HOAR in 1994.
DeleteYou know Shoar might have entered the race to take votes away from Gerry James which would in a way favor Tom Leek. That's a stretch but a possibility. The chance of Shoar winning is not that great if you ask me.
Delete