Robert Wexler tries to ‘set the record straight’ about quotes used in anti-Irv Slosberg ads

Robert Wexler doesn’t want his words used against Democrat Irv Slosberg.

The former South Florida congressman told Slosberg he was “happy to set the record straight” after mailers and television advertisements supporting Jeff Clemens used quotes from Wexler. The advertisements, the Slosberg campaign said in a news release, contained the wrong date of Wexler’s comments.

“He used Wexler’s quotes in seven mailers and also on three weeks of network television advertising and he lied about the 2016 date,” the campaign said in a news release. “Clemens is misrepresenting Robert Wexler and is using Wexler’s name for support.”

According to the Palm Beach Post, Wexler in 2006 called Slosberg an “agent of the Republican party.” The comments, the Post reported, were made in the midst of a heated state Senate primary between Slosberg and Ted Deutsch.

The quote has been featured in television ads and mailers. The TV ad has the correct date of the quote, but the Palm Beach Post reported a mailer from “Each Vote Counts,” a pro-Clemens committee, lists the wrong date. Another mailer, the newspaper reported, doesn’t list a date at all.

In text messages provided to the media by the Slosberg camp, Wexler tells Slosberg that “what apparently has been communicated by your opponent is not an accurate portrayal and was done without my knowledge or consent.”

The race between Slosberg and Clemens has become one of the most heated primaries this election cycle. Slosberg jumped into the Senate District 31 race just hours before the end of qualifying, challenging Clemens, who has represented the area for years.

Clemens has called out Slosberg for his decision to switch districts, last week blasting Slosberg for moving to eastern Boynton Beach from Boca Raton. Clemens said Slosberg showed off his new drivers’ license during an editorial board meeting to prove he had become a resident of the district.

But, Clemens argued, that meant Slosberg had to move out of his current House district, leaving the community “without a legal state representative.”

The two men will square off in the Aug. 30 primary.